I Only Need You
by chinocoop81
Summary: Ryan Atwood is a basketball player in Chino with no hopes or dreams for the future. What happens when Jimmy Cooper, coach of Newport Pirahnas calls? What happens when he meets Marissa Cooper? Important AN up.
1. Chapter 1

-1Chino

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Ryan Atwood dribbled the basketball down court. He did a lay up. Sweat was glistening off his shirtless body. He looked over to the parking lot, his friend still wasn't here yet Where could he be?

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He dribbled the ball again. Thud! He did a slam dunk. Swish! This is why he played basketball, he loved that sound.

He went to the three point line. He got into shooting position. He threw the ball in the air. Swish, he made it. It's time to go home now.

He grabs the basketball and puts his shirt on. He starts walking towards his bike. He gets on and takes one look back at the basketball court. It's time to get back to his house. It's time to get back to reality.

Newport Cohen House

Seth Cohen sat in his room staring at Captain Oats. His only friend was a plastic horse. Practice started in a couple of weeks. He still doesn't understand why his dad made him join the team. He was a horrible player, a geek, no one even liked him. The team would be better off without him.

He puts Captain Oats on and turns on the radio. Death Cab for Cutie's song, "Soul Meets Body" comes on. He just sits there listening to them for a while. It's not like he has anything else to do.

When the song is over he walks downstairs. "Mom! Mom where are you?!" When he reaches the kitchen, he sees that the house is empty. He looks on the counter and sees a note.

_Seth, we're going out tonight. There's leftovers in the fridge, help yourself._

_Love,_

_Mom and Dad_

He walks back upstairs and picks up Captain Oats. "Guess it's just you and me Oats." As he goes and makes himself some food he can't help but wonder if he's going to be alone forever.

Newport Cooper House, Marissa's room

Marissa Cooper sits on her bed staring off into space. Tonight there was another party at her friend, Holly's house. She didn't want to go though. She's tired of acting like Newport's perfect girl. She just wants to escape.

Life was boring here in Newport. There was never anyone moving in or out, so nothing ever changed. Everyone expected her to be the center of attention, the perfect person. She just wants to break free though.

She goes to her closet and takes out a bright pink dress. She bought it earlier that day even though it wasn't her style. She changes into it and puts on her bright pink nail polish.

As she looks in the mirror, she's satisfied. If this was the closest she'd ever be to change in Newport, she'd take it.

Newport Cooper house, Jimmy's office

Jimmy Cooper stared at the file in front of him. This kid was perfect for the job. There was only one problem, he lived in Chino.

He took his school, Chino High, to the state championship for three years in a row. He won MVP two of those years and won the last two games by extreme numbers. He averages thirty points a game. He was amazing.

He was eighteen, just graduated from high school. He may not have gone to college just yet, but who cares. He looked for a number and started dialing the phone. On the third ring, a woman answered. "Hello." she said.

"Hi, I'm Jimmy Cooper, from the Newport Piranhas, is Ryan Atwood there?"


	2. Chapter 2

-1**This chapters kind of short, but oh well. Read and Review, enjoy!**

"_I'm Jimmy Cooper from the Newport Piranhas, is Ryan Atwood there?"_

Jimmy Cooper waited for a response. "Why do you want to know?"

"I just need to talk to him, are you his mother?" Maybe that's why she was so protective, maybe she thought that this was bad news or something.

"Yeah, I'm Dawn Atwood. He just came in, let me give him the phone. He heard her yell his name and he winced at the sound of her voice. He may not know Ryan personally, but he can tell he doesn't have an easy life.

"Hello." A male voice on the other side of the phone replied. He seemed scared to talk.

"This is Jimmy Cooper from the-"

"The Newport Piranhas, I know who you are. Your team is new, looking for players. What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, I've looked at your file and I have to say, I'm really impressed. I'd like you to come try out sometime this week, preferably tomorrow." He really hoped he'd say yes.

"Me?"

He chuckled, "Yeah you. So do you think you could?"

"Uh, yeah, tomorrow right?" He could already hear the excitement in his tone.

"Yeah, see you then." He hung up the phone. Tomorrow he'd meet the legendary Ryan Atwood, he couldn't wait.

Chino

Meanwhile, Ryan Atwood held onto the phone, too shocked to hang up. His mom yelled over to him, "Well, what did he want?"

"He wants me to go try out for the team tomorrow." He was already excited but saying it to his mom made him even more excited. Jimmy Cooper wanted him!

His excitement was soon turned to fear when his mom's boyfriend, Jack, walked towards him. "So you think you're better than me, is that it?"

He could smell the alcohol on Jack's breath, it was time to unleash the beast. "No sir, it's just that they want me tomorrow-"

"Don't talk to me like that boy!" Jack hit him in the jaw. That would leave a mark. "Don't ever talk back to me, understand!"

"Yes sir." He knew that was the only safe response.

"You are not better than me, you're worthless. They'll never pick you when they see how pathetic you are. Don't get your hopes up." Jack walks off, leaving Ryan there. What if Jack was right, what if he was pathetic?

There were two people, two different worlds. The same news, but very different responses.


	3. Chapter 3

-1**A/N I don't really know what to think about this chapter. The next chapter is where Ryan and Marissa first see each other. Read and Review, thanks!**

Chino

Ryan Atwood sat in his room, staring at the ceiling. Some call it brooding, he calls it thinking. Thinking about life and how hard it is. Thinking of a way out.

He hears the screams coming from his mother and Jack's bedroom. They're going at it again, arguing. The whole neighborhood could probably hear them. It happens every night. When he gets up for his run in the morning, he gets disapproving looks from the neighbors. He just nods and keeps on running, hoping to get away.

He's in his room right now though, ignoring the screams coming from the other room. Instead, he thinks about tomorrow, and how try outs will go. Will he do good? Will he do bad? Will they be impressed, or just send him home and say that's not what they're looking for. So many possibilities, what would really happen though?

He stops staring at the ceiling and gets up. He walks to the door, catching sight of himself in the mirror on the way. There's a bruise forming on his jaw. It's nothing new to him, but it will be to Jimmy Cooper and Sandy Cohen. What if they think he got into a fight or something? What if they think he's a bad kid?

He continues walking. He walks to the kitchen and grabs a bottle of water from the fridge. He walks towards the front door and goes outside. It's already dark, so he sits down on the porch. There are so many memories here, in Chino. Some good, mostly bad.

He feels chills but doesn't know if it's just the cool California air, or the thought of some of the things he's been through.

He stares off at the houses. He remembers when he was younger, he would play with the other kids in the neighborhood. It was him, Theresa, Tommy, and Kevin. They would all play tag, or hide and go seek. Then Tommy got sick and died, Kevin got arrested for attempting to steal a car, and Theresa moved away. They all left him alone to deal with Chino.

So now here he is, alone on his porch. Thinking of what used to be, and what could have been. Thinking of his future, wondering if he'll ever find somewhere for him in this world.

Newport

Sandy Cohen looked out at the Newport scenery in front of him. There were huge houses, infinity pools, and the ocean. Everything a spoiled brat would want. Everything he always thought he wanted. He didn't realize what he really wanted though, not until now.

He wanted a wife, and a family. He wanted a descent job, to bring home a pay check. He wanted to come home everyday and feel like he's accomplished something. That's why he was a coach now, if you win, you feel like you've done something right.

He walks into the house and sighs. Tomorrow would be the try outs of Ryan Atwood. Jimmy said he's a really good player, something like thirty points a game. He also said he's won two MPV's, both at championship games that he won. He sounded perfect, but was he really?

If there wasn't something wrong with him, why wasn't he going to college? Why didn't another team try to pick him? Was there something else going on? Something that couldn't be written down on paper?

He laughed slightly to himself, Sandy Cohen, worried about people again. Kirsten always thought it was cute, he thought it was annoying. Why try to think about other people, when there were problems going on in his own family?

Seth was the problem. He refused to leave the house, saying what's the point, there's no one out there to go to. He refuses to talk to anybody except for that plastic horse, and like that's going to talk back.

Ryan Atwood is the same age as Seth though, right? That means that if he does get picked, that Seth will have someone. If Ryan gets picked, maybe Seth will come out of his room. If Ryan gets picked, maybe he'll have a normal family again.

Chino

Ryan Atwood makes his way inside to his room. The yelling has stopped, which means they are doing something else. Something he didn't want to walk in on them doing.

This just means that he has time to think without his mom yelling at him, or Jack hitting him. What if Jimmy Cooper is actually really mean? What if Sandy Cohen is actually mean, or better yet, what if someone else is mean?

There are so many bad scenarios. Why he thinks the worst, it's instinct. You don't think about the best in things, you think the worst. That way, when something really bad happens, you can't be disappointed. You'll only say, I knew it.

After all, he lived in Chino. Like Trey always said, "Having a dream doesn't make you smart. Knowing it won't come true, that does." So Ryan went to sleep, convinced that he would mess something up and be stuck in Chino forever.

Newport

Jimmy Cooper sat in his office, trying to find other players. There just wasn't anyone as good as Ryan Atwood though. So far he had two players, Seth Cohen and Jim Harrison(looks like Hayden Christensen). He'd have three when he gets a hold of Ryan Atwood.

He walks to his bedroom that he shares with Julie, his wife. Along the way, he sees Marissa's door open. He walks inside and sees her asleep. He smiles and goes to her. He kisses her forehead, "Goodnight Marissa."

He walks out of the room and closes the door behind him. Marissa has really had a hard time lately. She was caught shoplifting, and Jimmy was sure that he'd smelt alcohol on her breath one day. He just didn't understand why. She had everything she could ever want, right?

He doesn't have time to think about this right now though. Ryan Atwood would try out tomorrow. Everything would be okay. Marissa would stop drinking, Sandy would stop being so worried about his family, Seth would finally have a friend, and Jimmy Cooper, well he'd have a basketball team.

Chino

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Uhh." Ryan Atwood was never a morning person. Then he remembered what today was, and immediately jumped up. It was time to get ready.

He grabbed a wife beater and a button up shirt. He went and took a quick shower, still dirty from his work out yesterday. He applied some cologne, grabbed his stuff, and headed out. In the kitchen, there was a note and some car keys.

_Ryan,_

_Today's the day! Hope you the best! Love ya!_

_Mom_

_P.S. Take the car, I don't need it today anyways._

Ryan smiled. It was times like these that he knew his mom really did love him. Times that she showed that she was proud of him. Sometimes she was too drunk to admit it, or was afraid to because of Jack. Now though, she loved him, and for that he was thankful.

He got into the car and started the engine. He started driving towards Newport and smiled. Today was the day. Today was the day that maybe, just maybe, his world would change.

Newport

Jimmy Cooper was waiting at the practicing gym for Ryan. Sandy would be here any minute now. So would Ryan. Today, everything was going to change.

Sandy Cohen was driving towards the gym. Today was the day he would meet the legendary Ryan Atwood as Jimmy called him. Today was the day Seth would hopefully get a friend. Today was the day his life would be set in balance.


	4. Chapter 4

-1Ryan Atwood arrived at the gym. He walked in, expecting the worse. He saw Jimmy Cooper standing there, waiting for him. He walked towards him, extending his hand, "I'm Ryan Atwood."

"Jimmy Cooper, but you can just call me Jimmy. Sandy Cohen will be here any minute from now." He shook his hand and they waited for Sandy. A million things were running through my mind. What did he think of me so far? How did he find me? Did he notice the big bruise on my face?

Jimmy Cooper watched Ryan Atwood looking at the ground. There was a big bruise on his face. He didn't seem too proud of it. Did he get into a fight, or was there someone hitting him. He was so concerned with getting him on the team, he didn't think of the boy's old life.

Did he have abusive parents? Did he have kids in the neighborhood that he didn't get along with? Was there something else going on? "So.." Jimmy said.

"So…" Ryan Atwood responded, both not sure what to say. "When's Mr. Cohen going to get here?"

Sandy Cohen heard his name being called. So this was Ryan Atwood he thought while entering the gym. "I'm here. Let's get started." It's time to see the amazing Ryan Atwood in action.

"Umm, I'm Ryan Atwood." the boy said. He extended his hand. Sandy shook it and

smiled.

"I know who you are, Jimmy over here, he just won't stop going on about how good a player you are. Show me what you got kid, are you for real?" Sandy noticed that Ryan wouldn't look up for some reason.

"Well, let's get started." Jimmy said. Ryan got his basketball and Jimmy starts off by saying, "I'll give you a couple of minutes to warm up." Ryan starts his warm up by taking off his button up shirt and placing it on the floor. He then starts to stretch. "Sandy, I need to talk to you." Jimmy said. The sound of his voice indicated that it was important.

"What's wrong Jimmy? You have Ryan right here, and he looks good so far." Sandy said while watching him warm up.

"Did you get a look at his face?" Jimmy looked concerned and pointed towards Ryan.

"No, he was looking down. Why, is there something wrong?" Maybe there was a reason he was avoiding eye contact.

"Sandy, he has a big bruise on his face. Someone hit him. I don't know who though."

Sandy looked towards Ryan and looked at his face. Jimmy was right, there was a big bruise right on his jaw. "Do you think he's a trouble maker? Or do you think it's something else?"

"I don't know. He looks like he'll defend himself if necessary, but he just doesn't look like the kind of guy to start fights. I think there's something else going on, something that he's too afraid to tell anyone."

"Well may-" But Sandy got interrupted by Ryan walking towards them.

"I'm ready to start." He seemed nervous, and he had every right to be. They were a big team after all, in the NBA. He would do fine though, Sandy knew he would. There was only one problem though, where did that bruise come from?

Ryan Atwood actually liked Jimmy and Sandy. They were nice, and funny too. They made the situation seem less serious and more fun. They tried to joke around when he was trying out, and it was making things a whole lot better.

He was done with the major part of the try outs now. Now, he had a free style time. They told him upfront that they'd never done tryouts before, and that they were making up things as they went along. This made Ryan laugh, at least they were honest.

Now, he was practicing his three point shots. He'd so far made three out of four, which was pretty good. They seemed impressed by it. "Hey Ryan, see how far back you can make it from!" Sandy Cohen yelled.

"Seriously?!" Ryan asked. He'd made it from the three point line on the other side of the court once, he'd never attempted it again.

"Yeah! I can guarantee you the spot on the team already. This is just for fun. I've never seen anyone make it past the half court section. You've got real talent kid, use it. Impress me some more!"

"Alright!" He walked to the half court mark and aimed the ball to the hoop. He shot it, and made it. He backed up a couple of feet and tried it again. Swish! He'd made it again. He backed up to the three point line on the court. He aimed carefully. He jumped and shot, the ball was in the air. Swish! He made it!

"Wow, I'm impressed!" Sandy Cohen yelled. "I've never seen anything like it! Come here kid!" Ryan obeyed and walked towards Sandy. "You did good kid. You did good."

"You can go take a shower if you want, the showers are new, so you'll be the first to use them." Jimmy said. Ryan nodded a thanks and walked toward the hallway that led to the showers. He was a part of the team!

Sandy Cohen turned to Jimmy and smiled. "He's good, everything you said he'd be and more. I've never seen someone make it from way back there."

"I've seen it once more, but that was a while ago. Most people miss." Jimmy smiled.

"I wonder what's wrong with him though. He doesn't look like he has an easy life. You can tell that by the bruise. What else is going on?" No matter how good he was, Sandy wanted to know what was wrong with Ryan. There was something that Ryan wasn't telling them, and he had every intention to find out what it was.

Ryan Atwood finished taking his shower and changed into his extra clothes that he brought. Sandy Cohen seemed impressed with him, and Jimmy Cooper didn't stop smiling through the whole try out. Things seemed to finally be looking up for him.

He walked back into the gym, finding Jimmy and Sandy there still. "Jimmy, Mr. Cohen, thanks for this great opportunity. I won't let you down."

Sandy just smiled and said, "Don't think we're letting you go home already. Listen, Jimmy has his daughter coming over to take him to lunch. I was thinking, you and me could go for something to eat. I get to know you, you get to know me. You know? I know of a great diner we could go to."

"Uh, sure Mr. Cohen."

"Ryan, call me Sandy." He smiled and Ryan smiled too.

"All right, Sandy."

"There you go, go outside. I'll be with you in just a minute."

"Alright."

Marissa Cooper was on her way to pick up her dad for lunch. He was letting some boy try out for his basketball team. Uhh, that's just what she needed, more sports talk from him.

She'd heard him telling her mom what a great player this boy is. He said that he was perfect for the team and would finally change things up in Newport. That's just what Marissa needed, an old sweaty guy that bounces the ball around for a living. Very nice, not.

She parked the car and started walking towards the gym. She looked in her purse for her cell phone. She didn't notice someone walking out. She bumped into him and cursed under her breath when her purse and all its contents spilled on the floor. "I'm so sorry, I was just looking for my cell phone wh-" She didn't finish her sentence though because when she looked up, she was met by blue eyes she could just get lost in.

"It's fine really, I wasn't paying attention either." He smiled at her, and she felt her knees go weak. Good thing she was on the ground.

"Umm, are you the basket ball player that my dad was supposed to try out?"

"Yeah, I'm Ryan Atwood." He reached out his hand to help her up.

She grabbed a hold of his hand and stood up. She felt the electricity running through her body when he touched her. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. "Marissa Cooper."

Their moment was interrupted by Sandy Cohen. "Ryan, you ready?"

"Yeah." He turned his attention back to her and said, "I'll see you around, Marissa Cooper." He started walking off.

"Yeah." She said, even though he didn't hear her.

"Marissa, you ready to go." Her dad asked. She wasn't listening though. The only thing in her mind was a boy. A boy named Ryan Atwood.


	5. Chapter 5

-1Marissa Cooper drove to the restaurant in silence. Her dad tried to talk to her, but she didn't listen. She couldn't stay focused. Her thoughts were on him, Ryan Atwood.

She barely knew him. She only knew his name and that he played basketball. Did he work for her dad now? Did he make the team? Would he be living in Newport? Was this going to be her escape? There were so many questions, but no answers. Not yet.

She'd never felt that way before she met him. She'd never thought of someone that much, not even Luke when she dated him. What was it about this guy? Yeah, he was hot, but there had to be something more. Physical attraction wouldn't make her feel this way, would it?

He was different, unlike anyone she'd ever met before. He looked happy, genuinely happy. You don't see that in Newport. He was smiling, a real smile too. That's not what got to her though. It was his eyes.

Ryan Atwood was in the car with Sandy Cohen. They were driving to a local diner for lunch, and so far he'd said nothing. He couldn't get his mind off of Marissa Cooper, Jimmy's daughter.

She was beautiful, took his breath away for a minute. She had the most gorgeous blue eyes, and the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. She was drop dead beautiful, unlike anyone he'd ever met before.

He may have seen her for all of two minutes, but he already wanted to know about her. Know why she didn't seem happy. Know why her eyes were so sad.

Marissa Cooper arrived at the restaurant that she was going to. She didn't care much for the food, but her dad loved it here. Hey, if he's paying, you can't turn down free food.

"So, what do you want to eat?" Her dad asked her. She just shrugged. She really didn't care.

"Whatever you're having." She didn't want to choose.

"Alright, are you okay, you seem a little out of it."

"I'm fine, great actually." She thought of Ryan and smiled. "So, how was the try outs today, is he everything you hoped for?"

"Yeah, Ryan, that's the kids name, he's a really good player." Her dad smiled, "So good in fact, that he's now a part of the team."

"Oh, really. That's great." She said, smiling wide. Ryan Atwood was going to stay here, in Newport. "Where's he staying at, when does he start?" She needed answers.

"I don't know yet, but he should probably come sometime this week. I'm sure his family will work out the details with him." Her dad seemed to lose his excited ness about the situation, but that was okay. Ryan Atwood was going to stay!

Ryan Atwood sat next to Sandy in the booth at the diner. It seemed like a nice place, a normal place. At least not all of Newport was high priced and dressy.

"So, what do you want kid?" Sandy asks me.

"Uh, a cheeseburger, fries, and a soda." He says. He's not really in the mood for anything else.

"Alright, that's what I was thinking too." Sandy says and smiles. Ryan feels comfortable around him. He's like a fatherly figure.

He can't stop thinking about Marissa though. The electricity going through his body when he helped her up. The beautiful smile. The sadness in her eyes.

Sandy suddenly gets serious and asks him, "Why do you have that bruise on your face? Did someone hit you?"

Ryan didn't know how to respond. Should he tell the truth. "Uh……."


	6. Chapter 6

-1Chapter 6

**A/N sorry for the big delay, I had some difficulties getting on the computer. Thanks for all the reviews. R/R and enjoy!**

Ryan Atwood stared at Sandy for a while, trying to think of what to say. Everything in him was telling him to tell the truth, let other people know of his pain. Let them help, but he knew they couldn't. No one could help him. So he did the only thing he'd ever done when it came to talking about the marks on his face, he lied. "I got hit by a basketball on the head at the park, not a big deal really."

Sandy Cohen didn't seem to buy it though. "Ryan, a basketball caused that bruise on your face?" He raised his eyebrows, like he knew Ryan was lying.

"Yeah, if you get hit hard enough, they can really hurt you. It's happened before. Like I said, it's no big deal." Ryan even gave him his famous half smile, trying to reassure Sandy.

Sandy didn't look like he fully believed Ryan, but he didn't push the matter any farther. He just nodded and smiled in return. They made small talk for the rest of lunch, neither knowing what to say. There wasn't much to talk about, so they talked about what brought them together, basketball.

"I really don't know that much about coaching a team." Sandy had said. He had chuckled, which made Ryan feel comfortable. Sandy Cohen could be honest, but why couldn't he be?

"Umm, I don't know what to tell you there, I'm just a student, not the teacher." Ryan said. His friend Kevin had told that to the teacher once when he was asked to tell the class something. He of course had been sent to the principal's office, but the memory made Ryan smile.

Sandy chuckled and said, "I guess that's true. So, I hear you won two state championships, receiving MVP at both games." Sandy seemed impressed.

"Yeah, it wasn't much really. My motto is, play your hardest and whether you win or lose, you did your best and that's worth more than a win." Ryan had come up with that when he was first starting basketball, back when he was like any other kid in Chino. A kid with hopes for getting out of Chino, of making your life worth something. That's what basketball was to him, his chance to prove himself.

Sandy looked at Ryan, amazed almost. "Wow, that's a good way to look at things."

"Where I'm from, you don't always win, or get rewarded for your work. You don't have dreams or any hope for your life. So you have to be okay with the thought, that maybe, just maybe, you did something special." Ryan looked down and then looked back up and said, "Even if no one notices it."

Sandy looked like he didn't know what to say for a long time. He just stared at Ryan and shook his head. "I know how you feel kid, I'm from the Bronx until I ran as far away from that place as I possibly could. I know what it feels like to feel like you don't have anyone. Just remember this, I'm always here if you need to talk."

Ryan just nodded. Talking was the last thing he really wanted to do. He just couldn't have meaningful conversations with people. Then he remembered Marissa and smiled. She seemed cool, someone he could talk to. He was interrupted by Sandy.

"We should probably get going, you're mom will wonder where you are." Ryan just nodded though, knowing his mom was probably drunk by now. She wouldn't care, even if she did leave him a note this morning.

They drove back to the gym in silence. Ryan suddenly couldn't talk, not even about basketball. Not when he knew in a matter of minutes, his life would suck again. That he would be back in Chino, with his drunk mom and her abusive boyfriend. Small talk couldn't help now.

When they arrived at the gym, Ryan got out and headed for his car. He got in and closed the door, when Sandy knocked on his window. Ryan rolled it down, and Sandy handed him a card. "Incase you ever need to talk, or anything, here's my card." Ryan nodded, touched by how Sandy cared.

"Thanks, that's really nice of you."

"It's nothing, really." Ryan was about to roll up the windows again when Sandy said, "And whoever's been hurting you.." he motioned to Ryan's face, "Just know, someday, he'll get what he deserves." Sandy walked off, not looking back.

Ryan rolled up the window and started the engine. Sandy's words stayed with him, _Just know, someday, he'll get what he deserves._ Ryan couldn't help but hope that it was true. He couldn't help but hope that Jack would hurt as much as he'd hurt him and his mom.

As the golden atmosphere of Newport changed to the gray slums of Chino, Ryan felt his mood change too. His positive mood went to his negative mood. He felt like he was a different person in Newport. A person that had a future, someone that could be a star. Now though, he felt like a worthless piece of trash. Someone with no hope, no dreams.

As he reached his house, he felt worse than ever when he saw Jack's car. He slowly walked to the front door, staring at the cracked side walk along the way. This was home, not Newport, despite the basketball team and Sandy Cohen. This was where he lived, where he would probably be stuck forever.

As he opened the door, he called out to his mom. "Mom, I'm home!" He slowly walked into the living room, afraid for what he might see. Jack was on the chair, staring at the TV and his mom was in the kitchen. She had a smile on her face and ran to him excitedly.

"So, how'd it go? Is my son now a basketball star?" Ryan smiled at his mom's enthusiasm. She hardly ever showed her emotions towards him, just like the note. Today, she must be on a roll.

"Yeah, they loved me. Even offered me the job right on the spot." Ryan said. He smiled as he thought about it, his mom was happy for him, and he got a once in a lifetime opportunity to join the NBA. What could possibly go wrong?

But Ryan forgot that he was in Chino. He forgot that whatever news that you receive, will eventually turn to bad. He forgot that dreams could be shattered in a second. He forgot that Jack was in the room.

"Shut up, you worthless piece of trash! They think you're good, but they're fools, all of them." He got up and walked towards Ryan's mother. "Even you, for being so excited all day. Can't you see you're son's worthless?"

Ryan's mother glared at Jack and said, "Don't you…" but was interrupted by Jack slapping her hard across the face. Ryan's blood boiled. No one did that to his mom.

"You never talk back to me, understand?" Jack said. Ryan could tell he was drunk. He could smell the alcohol and spices from whatever he'd eaten on his breath. He could see that look of determination to make someone's life a living hell.

Ryan walked toward Jack and shoved him. "No one ever talks to my mom like that." He hit Jack's eye and Jack was taken aback. Ryan had never fought back before. "Don't you ever touch my mom again, understand?"

Jack wasn't intimidated though, he just laughed. "Do you really think that you're going to scare me off with that little punch?" Jack laughed even harder and Ryan could see the spit flying from his mouth. Suddenly though, he stopped laughing and hit Ryan.

That sent Ryan to the ground, surprised. He got angry and immediately got back up, ready to fight. Jack was quicker though, and he hit Ryan in the face again. Ryan backed up, but didn't fall, wouldn't fall. He ignored the pain and focused on hitting Jack. Ryan moved to hit Jack, but Jack blocked him and hit him harder in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Ryan fell to the floor again. This time though, he didn't get up fast enough. Jack started kicking his sides. Ryan eventually moved away, but by then, his sides were hurting. He slowly got up and heard his mother's voice. "Ryan, you should leave. Take the car, I don't care, you just need to leave."

Ryan looked at his mom, shocked. What had happened to their happiness just a few minutes ago? "You're kicking me out?" The answer was obvious, but he needed her to nod, say yes, anything. He needed her conformation that this was it, that this was the end of the road for the two of them.

She just nodded, not looking him in the eye. Jack came up to Ryan and grabbed him by the shirt. "You heard your mother, pack your bags and get out of here." He practically dragged Ryan to his room. Ryan packed all of his stuff in one bag and went to leave when he saw Jack in the doorway. "You're mother's finally learning that you're useless. Smart woman." He gave Ryan an evil smile.

Ryan ignored him though. He couldn't let Jack get to him. His mother was in the living room, a bottle of Vodka in hand. Ryan just shook his head and walked to the front door. He was about to close it when Jack came up to him. He went right to Ryan's face and said, "How does it feel, knowing that no one wants you?" Then he laughed and shut the door in Ryan's face.

Ryan walked to the car with his bag in hand. He put it in the passenger seat and started the car. He got on the highway and started for Newport again. He felt a warm substance running down his face and realized that he was bleeding, not crying. They're not worth crying for, he thought. They abandoned me, they just don't care.

Jack's words stuck in his head though. His last words to him, _"How does it feel, knowing no one wants you?"_ Ryan thought about it for a long time. How does it feel. Then, he came to a conclusion. "It hurts." he muttered to himself, "It hurts a lot."

Marissa Cooper stared out at the endless waves. The vodka was right next to her, calling her name. She didn't dare open the bottle though. She didn't need an escape, not anymore. Now there was something, well, someone else.

A certain blond haired, blue eyed boy that she met. Ryan Atwood. Just thinking of him made her shiver. He was interesting to her. What was his story? Where was he from? Did he have a girlfriend? Was he looking for one?

There was so many questions, so much mystery. She needed to know, needed to talk to him. She saw him for a couple of minutes only, but she was intrigued by him. She wanted to know everything about him. She wanted that feeling she got when she was in his presence.

She heard he stomach growl and sighed. It was time to get some food. She got up from the lifeguard station and walked towards the pier. The diner wasn't far from here.

She entered the diner a short time later. She looked to see if her normal seat was occupied, it was. She gasped when she saw who it was. It was Ryan Atwood. She blinked a couple of times, yeah, he was really there.

She smiled as she started walking towards him. Her smile disappeared though when she saw his face. There were bruises all over him. Yeah, he had a bruise earlier, but these looked fresh, like something had happened to him. She suddenly realized that there was more going on than she thought.

She walked towards him, but he didn't look up. He didn't notice her. He only stared at the water in front of him. He seemed sad, like something bad had happened. She got even closer to him and softly said, "Hey."

He looked up at her, his blue eyes filled with different emotions. He had sadness, confusion, and something else that she couldn't quite place. Some emotion that she couldn't understand. "Hey." he said sadly.

"Can I sit down?" she asked. He didn't say anything, just nodded. She sat down across from him and watched him return to looking at his water. She studied his bruises and saw that he'd been bleeding. Then she looked down at his white shirt, there was small blood stains on it. "Are you okay?"

He looked back up at her and stared into her eyes for a long time. She felt as though he could read her like a book. He looked straight into her soul. His eyes held so much sadness, it was overwhelming. He looked down at his hands and said, "I just realized that I'm all alone. No one wants me, not even the person that's supposed to love me more than anything."

He looked back up at her and she could tell he wanted to cry. He didn't though, he held his tears back and tried to remain strong. She finally realized his other emotion. Loneliness. He was lonely, abandoned by someone. Who though?

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, actually concerned.

He shook his head no. He went back to staring at the water. She realized that he didn't want her there, he probably wanted to be alone. "I'll just go." she said, almost whispering. She started to get up, when she felt a strong hand grab her arm.

She felt the electricity run through her body like it had earlier. She looked down into his eyes and neither said anything for a while. After what felt like an eternity, he finally said, "Marissa, could you stay with me? I really don't want to be alone right now."

His eyes held so much vulnerability in them. She couldn't say no, wouldn't say no. "Okay." He seemed to relax some, and removed his hand. She leaned back in her seat and watched him. She watched the emotions playing in his eyes. She was even more intrigued than earlier.

After a while he looked back at her and asked, "Have you ever felt like an outsider, like no one really knows who you are, and the people that do, just leave?"

She thought about her own life. She felt like an outsider in a world of friends. Then she thought about her friend, Summer Roberts. She went on vacation to Hawaii over the summer with her family. In a way, she'd kind of left Marissa with no one. She was the only one that knew the real Marissa Cooper. She was the only one that actually cared. She nodded and said, "Yeah."

Ryan nodded too and stared into her eyes for a long time. Marissa's heart broke for him. He was in a new place, with new people. He didn't know much about anyone and no one really knew much about him. By the looks of it, he'd had a troubled past. Someone had left him, or he'd left someone.

What really got to her was how he made her feel. His presence was intoxicating. Most of all though, he'd asked her to stay. In his time of need, he'd asked for her, and only her. Yeah, she'd been the one that was there, but still. He wanted her. Even if he didn't talk to her yet, it was worth it to be in his presence.

"It's gonna be okay." she said, putting her hand on top of his, feeling the familiar sparks.

He looked down at her hand, and she saw for a minute, the briefest smile. Then he looked back up at her and asked, "Is it though?"

She was taken aback by his question. He looked at her, waiting for the answer. An answer she didn't know. She thought about it for a long time. He was going through a lot. She didn't know what though, but by the looks of it, it wasn't good. She couldn't answer, she had the same question. "I truthfully don't know."

He just nodded and said nothing. Neither had to. They both knew things were going to change. They both realized that they were going to go through hard times. They both didn't know how much their lives were about to really change for the better though.


	7. Chapter 7

-1Chapter 7

**A/N I decided to write another chapter, so here you go. I still want to know, who should Ryan live with, if anyone. Tell me your opinions, R/R, enjoy!**

Ryan Atwood looked around the motel room. It wasn't exactly five star hotel status, but it was better than Chino. Anything was better than Chino at this point.

He went and looked around some more. He could get used to this, at least until he found somewhere else. He set his bag down and sat on the bed. He sighed as he thought about his day, about how he was abandoned. He thought of how everything seemed to be going good, but then everything went horribly wrong. Then he thought of Marissa Cooper.

He smiled. That was the good thing about today. She'd found him at the diner in one of his darkest hours. She helped him through it though. She helped him when he needed to talk, and was sure not to push him too far. They'd shared dinner together, and he actually laughed a few times.

She seemed like she really cared, even though he'd barely known her. If she was as attracted to him as he was to her, then maybe they could go out. He might just be moving here, but there was something about her.

He lay down on his bed and sighed. She probably didn't care about him. She probably just stayed to be nice. He was just putting ideas in his head. Ideas that he knew would never really happen. He could never date a girl like Marissa Cooper.

As he fell asleep though, he couldn't get her face out of his mind. He couldn't get her blue eyes that he could stare at for hours or the freckles on her nose out. He couldn't forget her smile or the sound of her laughter. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was mesmerized whenever she was around.

Marissa Cooper smiled as she walked, no skipped, to her room. Ryan Atwood had specifically asked her to stay with **her**. Ryan Atwood had had dinner with **her**. Ryan Atwood laughed with **her.** How could this day get any better?

Her dad was in his office and must have noticed her because he said, "Someone's happy, what'd you do this time?'

Marissa just smiled and said, "I didn't do anything." She continued walking to her room, a bounce in her step. Her dad followed her though.

"Marissa, where have you been?" He seemed concerned but she didn't know why.

"I went to the beach and then I went to the diner to get some dinner." She sat down on her bed, the smile never leaving her face. "That's when I ran into someone."

Jimmy seemed interested now. He looked concerned still though, "Who did you run into?" He was waiting for her answer but she didn't want to tell him, incase he didn't approve.

She debated whether to tell him or not, but decided to tell the truth. He was the one that hired him. "Ryan Atwood." She smiled saying his name. She felt her tongue tingle from it.

Now Jimmy seemed really concerned. "What's he doing here? He's supposed to be back in Chino." He seemed to be talking to himself and Marissa got confused. Why was it such a big deal for him to be here? "What did he say?" Jimmy finally said, looking at her.

Marissa didn't want to tell about her conversation with Ryan. That was between just her and him. She felt special that he talked to her, if just a little. Even if she didn't know why he was really back in Newport so soon. "Nothing." Then she remembered the bruises and cuts on his face. She could tell her dad that, right? "Although, there was more cuts and bruises on his face than earlier today."

Jimmy seemed really concerned now. "Did he tell you why the cuts and bruises were there?" He seemed really upset now, and Marissa was beginning to lose her happiness.

"No, he wouldn't talk about why he was here or what those bruises were from." She thought about it for a minute. What was the reason for them there? What did her dad think of it? "Is there something I should know? Is something else going on?" Now her dad had her concerned.

"I don't know if I should tell you this." He seemed to be debating whether to tell her. He looked at her and must have seen how concerned she was because he sighed and sat on the bed. "He's from a really troubled background. I think someone at home was hitting him, I just don't know who though."

Marissa was shocked. She thought maybe he got into a fight, hit his head, anything other than getting beat up by someone in his family. She for some reason was even more intrigued to him, wanted to see him again. "I had no idea, dad. Although, he did look kind of sad." Marissa remembered the looks of sadness, of loneliness that he'd given her.

"Well, there's something going on. There's something that he's not telling anyone." Jimmy walked out of the room, still talking to himself in the hallway. Marissa sighed, maybe he didn't like her after all.

He didn't tell her much about himself, except that he had a brother. He said he was from Chino, and talked about his love for basketball. He didn't tell her a lot of things, but maybe it was just because he didn't really know her.

She fell asleep that night thinking of him. She thought of the feeling she got when their hands touched, or when she was simply in his presence. She thought about the smell of his cologne that she could smell, even after the whole day. Last but not least, she thought of when she'd see him again.

Jimmy Cooper paced around his office, worried. Worried about Ryan Atwood. What had really happened? Did Marissa really know? Would Ryan be willing to tell him? Most of all though, why was he back?

Jimmy Cooper sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He'd find him in the morning, he had to be around here somewhere. He'd make sure of it. First though, he needed to call Sandy. Sandy was supposed to talk to the boy.

He quickly dialed the number and pressed talk. After the second ring, a very upbeat and happy Sandy Cohen answered. "Hello, Sandy Cohen, how can I help you?"

"Sandy, it's Jimmy, can you talk?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Did you talk to Ryan today?" Jimmy heard a sigh from the other line.

"Yeah, well, I tried to." Sandy's voice held a sadness in it now. "He didn't tell me much. He just told me that he got hit in the head with a basketball. You could tell he was afraid to tell the truth. It's just so sad, if he can't talk to us, then who is there?"

Jimmy sighed and thought about Marissa. She said that he didn't really talk to her, but maybe because he was just getting to know her. "I don't know, but maybe he's just not comfortable yet. We'll give him more time."

"But how much time until he doesn't listen anymore?" Sandy seemed to be taking the matter personally, should he tell him about what Marissa had said?

"Sandy, I have some bad news."

"What, is everyone okay?"

"I don't know. It's about Ryan. Marissa said that she went to the diner and saw him sitting there, all alone. She also said that he had more cuts and bruises on his face than he had earlier. She said that he didn't talk to her, but I don't know if that's true."

"Well, what can we do about it? This kid has a bad life, he just needs to talk. I gave him my card. Maybe he'll call. About Marissa, trust her, I don't think she'd lie about something like this."

"You're probably right." Jimmy felt bad for doubting Marissa. She may drink, but that didn't mean that she'd lie about something like this. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, tell me if he calls."

"Alright, see ya Jimmy."

Jimmy hung up his phone. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. This wasn't how today was supposed to go. He was supposed to get Ryan Atwood on his basketball team and celebrate with the family. He wasn't supposed to be wondering why Ryan was in Newport all of a sudden and wondering if he might be possibly be suffering from child abuse. No, that wasn't supposed to be his day at all.

Ryan Atwood awoke to the sound of seagulls outside. He jumped up in bed, afraid. Where was he? What was he doing here? Where was his mom and Jack? Then he remembered. He sighed, this was his life now.

He got up and made the motel bed. He walked outside in a wife beater and his pajama pants. He could see the ocean from outside. Maybe Newport wasn't so bad after all. Then he thought of Marissa. Nope, he could really get used to this place.

He walked back inside and changed into some gym clothes. He had a shirt with the sleeves cut off and some sweatpants. He decided to go for a work out at the beach. He slowly jogged to the beach, figuring it wasn't too far.

When he got there, he went sprinting across the sand. He passed a couple of girls and smiled and waved. They started giggling amongst themselves and Ryan laughed. Newport really wasn't so bad after all.

Marissa Cooper walked to the lifeguard station and sat down. She looked out at the ocean and sighed. She couldn't get Ryan out of her mind. She was worried about him. What if someone was hitting him? What could she do, if anything, to help? Did he feel the same way for her that she did for him? The most important question though was, where was he?

Her question was answered though. She saw him running in the distance and smiled. His muscles were clearly visible because of his sleeveless shirt. There was sweat running down his body. He looked so handsome, she couldn't stop staring. He came closer and she yelled, "Ryan!!"

Ryan had been running and was now getting tired. He'd ran maybe a mile at a sprinter's pace. Now, he needed to rest. He didn't want to stop though, he could feel the adrenaline run through his body. He thought of everything that was happening in his life. He felt like when he ran, he was slowly running away from his past, his problems.

_"Ryan!"_

He turned in the direction that the noise came from. He squinted because of the sun light and saw Marissa. She looked beautiful with the sun reflecting off her face. He jogged over to her and stopped, putting his hands on hi knees, breathless.

"Marissa?"

"Yeah, I saw you running, so I figured I'd say hi." She smiled shyly at him and he felt butterflies in his stomach.

"Hmm, that's nice." He walked up the ramp so he could get closer to her. He sat down, still breathing heavy from his run.

"So, how was your night?" She asked after a couple of minutes of silence. She turned to look at him and smiled.

"I slept better than I have in a while." He smiled too and looked into her eyes. The eyes that he could get lost in if he wanted to. He looked down. He couldn't get lost in them, not now anyways.

"Really, why's that?" She asked. Ryan just shrugged and she nodded. "I slept good last night too." She said.

Ryan smiled and asked, "Why?" He wanted to know about her. He'd never felt this way about anyone, not even Theresa before she left.

She shrugged, just like he had. "I guess, yesterday was a good day for me."

"Why?" He asked, curious.

"I met someone." She looked down. "Someone special."

Ryan just nodded, not wanting to say anything. Marissa looked at him curiously when he didn't say anything. Ryan saw her start to scoot closer to him, but he got up. "I should probably go, I have a whole mile to jog back." He got up and walked down the ramp.

Before he left though Marissa said, "Bye Ryan, maybe I'll see you around?" Something in her tone made him turn around. Her face looked hopeful, almost like she wanted to see him again.

He just nodded and said, "Yeah, see ya." He took off again and headed back the way he'd came. He didn't feel as energetic as he did when he first started though. It had nothing to do with him being tired either. Marissa said that she'd met someone special yesterday. Something about that made him upset. He didn't want Marissa with anyone else, even if he barely knew her.

The only thing that Ryan Atwood didn't know though, was that the special person that Marissa had met was him.


	8. Chapter 8

-1Chapter 8

**A/N This chapter's short, but I don't have much time. I might post a little more tomorrow, if not, next week. Thanks for the review, R/R, enjoy!**

Marissa Cooper sat, confused. She was still at the lifeguard station, a couple of hours after her encounter with Ryan. They'd been doing good, making small conversation. Then, she said that she'd met someone special, and he freaked out and left.

Maybe he thought that she was too forward. Maybe he wasn't looking for a relationship. Or maybe he didn't know what she was talking about when she said someone special. Maybe he thought she meant someone else.

She'd tried to make it clear that she liked him. She was scooting closer to him, preparing to kiss him. She was going to tell him about her feelings, but he left. Left without saying anything other than maybe he'd see her later.

She's been trying to make sense of what was going on. Trying to figure out what had happened with her and Ryan. When did things get like this. She was just trying to move forward and things went terribly wrong.

So now she was just staring out at the ocean. The beach was getting fuller with people. She sighed, probably tourists. She got up and headed towards her car. Then she thought of something her dad had said to her this morning.

He'd said that if she saw Ryan to tell him. Or she could try to get answers out of him. Well, she'd tried. She'd tried to ask if he wanted to be with her. She'd tried to get answers, her answers. Now though, her and her dad were both answerless.

Jimmy Cooper heard a car outside and quickly walked downstairs. He was met by an upset looking Marissa. He quickly asked what was on his mind. What had been on his mind since she left.

"Did you see Ryan?"

She sighed and gave him an upset look. "Yeah, I saw him alright." She started for the stairs but turned around suddenly. "And I didn't get any answers."

Jimmy watched her walk upstairs, her footsteps echoing through the house. He sighed again. No answers. This was going to be a long day.

Then he thought of something. Marissa had said no answers, yes. She looked more upset than he thought she'd be though. She wasn't this way last night when he spilled his concerns to her. No, she definitely wasn't.

So Jimmy Cooper couldn't help but wonder if the answers that she was looking for were the ones he was looking for. Or maybe she meant her own answers to something.

Seth Cohen walked along the pier and sighed. He was an outsider in his own town. In his own home. When would he ever find a friend?

That's when he saw it. It was someone his age, maybe five foot eight, or nine. He was well built, had lots of muscles. He seemed disturbed by something, and by the looks of all the bruises on his face, he probably was disturbed.

The boy kept was walking in his direction, but not looking up from the ground. When he neared, Seth tapped him on the shoulder. He seemed to jump, and get defensive. "It's alright man, I'm not going to hurt you." Seth then looked down at his body. "I don't think I can anyways."

The boy looked up and gave a small smile. "True."

Seth pretended to be hurt, "So you think I'm small, is that it?"

The boy gave a small laugh and said, "No, you just don't have muscles." He looked back at the ground and then looked back at him, serious. "Why did you stop me?"

Seth gave a sympathetic smile. "You looked sad, or hurt. I don't really know which. I'm not good reading people." Then he realized what he'd said and mentally kicked himself.

"Well, you're right." The boy looked down. "Things haven't been good for me lately."

Seth was sorry for the guy. "I'm sorry." He then realized that the guy didn't know who he was. "I'm Seth by the way."

"Ryan."

"Come with me, I'll take you to my house. I'll get you some breakfast, introduce you to my parents, and we can play some PS2."

The boy nodded and said, "Alright."

Seth smiled as they made their way to his car. Seth Cohen might actually have a friend.

Ryan Atwood smiled as he walked with Seth. He may have problems he needed to work out, but hey, things were looking good again.

When they got in the car, Seth started rambling. "I know we just met, but we're considered friends right, I've never really had a friend, except for my goldfish I had in fifth grade, but it died, is a goldfish considered a friend?"

Ryan just laughed. "I don't think so."

Seth seemed defeated. "Well, then I've never had a friend before."

Ryan sighed, thinking of his own friends that he used to have. "I've had some, but not currently." Then he remembered what Seth had said about being friends. "Except for you."

Seth smiled, happy. "Hmm, Seth Cohen having a friend." He paused, "I like that."

Ryan gulped. "Did you just say Cohen?"


	9. Chapter 9

-1Chapter 9

**A/N This chapter's actually two chapters put together, so I hope you enjoy it. I actually put this story up on the OC fox message boards, so in order for me to catch up with the message boards, I needed to post two chapters. I don't know when I'll post again, but I'll try to next week. OH, and in this fic, Ryan's taller than in the show, over six feet tall. Thanks for all the reviews, R/R, enjoy!**

Ryan waited for Seth's answer. Sandy couldn't be related to Seth, right? NO, maybe he'd just heard Seth wrong. Maybe he'd said something like Bowen. Yeah, Bowen, like Bruce Bowen. No, he couldn't have said Cohen, there was no chance. None at all.

"Yeah, my last name's Cohen. Why do you want to know?" Ryan couldn't answer though. Maybe he didn't know Sandy.

"Do you know Sandy Cohen?" Ryan could only hope that Seth said no.

"Yeah, he's my dad." Seth seemed confused. "Wait, how do you know my dad?"

"I'm the newest player on the basketball team." Ryan sighed. He really didn't want to think of yesterday, or any other time in his life. He knew Sandy would question him. "I'm from Chino."

"Chino?" Seth seemed amazed. "I've never talked to anyone other than the people of Newport." Seth seemed to think for a little bit. "Actually, I haven't even talked to the people of Newport."

Ryan laughed, he was joking, right? Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all, he had Seth here to help him with his jokes. Seth just frowned though. "I'm dead serious."

Ryan stopped. Seth was an outsider, just like he was now. Ryan remembered Marissa. She said that she felt like an outsider sometimes. Maybe they could all be friends. "I'm sorry man, I didn't know." Ryan paused. "Do you know Marissa Cooper?"

"Yeah." Seth laughed now. "Who doesn't know Marissa Cooper?" Seth turned to Ryan for a quick second. "You've met Marissa already, wow, she's fast."

Ryan was confused now. "What do you mean, fast?" Ryan thought about Marissa for a little while, she did say she met someone special. Maybe that's what he meant, she had a lot of boyfriends. "And yes, I have met her, three times."

"Haha, and you're keeping track." Seth laughed some more. "I thought you were cool too," he joked. Ryan didn't find anything funny about it.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Marissa Cooper is popular, Ryan." Seth paused, looking for words to say. "She's wanted by all the guys, and admired by all the girls. Every single parent loves her, but no one knows about her problems…."

Seth stopped and Ryan questioned him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, she drinks." Seth paused. "A lot."

"Why?" Ryan wanted to know what her problem is, maybe he could help her.

"No one knows." Seth chuckled. "you'd think, she has everything she could ever want. Why does she do it?"

Ryan was quiet. He understood. She was an outsider, an outsider in a pool of people. He felt the same way sometimes. He wanted to help her, let her know that he was here. His thoughts were interrupted by Seth pulling up into a gated community. Besides, she said she had someone special…….

Ryan got out of the car and headed for the Cohen's front door. He looked at the house, it was huge, bigger than any house he'd ever seen before. It was bigger than some motels that he'd gone seen.

He arrived at the front door and waited for Seth to open the door. When he did, his breathe was taken away. The house was beautiful. From design to decorations, it was perfect. He cautiously walked in, afraid he'd mess something up. Seth walked quickly past him, chuckling.

"Well, here's my crib." Seth said, looking around. He didn't seem very excited about it, unlike Ryan. Then again, he'd probably lived here most of his life. Where he was from, he'd probably seen even bigger houses. Ryan was amazed at Seth's life. Did he know how lucky he was?

Ryan heard footsteps and gulped. Here it was, the Sandy confrontation. He really didn't feel comfortable talking to Sandy about something like this, at least not yet. No, give him some more time. He wouldn't talk about what he was doing in Newport, he'd say that there were difficulties back home, yeah, not the whole story.

Sandy appeared in the foyer with the boys. He seemed shocked to see Ryan. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. He walked closer, eyeing Ryan's face. _Here it goes, _Ryan thought. Sandy would confront him about the number of bruises on his face, he just knew it.

Instead, Sandy looked at the papers in his hand and asked, "Is anyone hungry, cause I'm starved."

Ryan didn't know what to say. Yeah, he was kind of hungry, but that wasn't what he'd expected from Sandy. "Yeah, sure." Ryan said, avoiding any eye contact. Seth was oblivious to Ryan's shock.

Sandy just nods and walks towards the kitchen. Ryan and Seth follow him and Ryan's still confused. He'd been prepared for a confrontation, had a story in mind even. He sighed. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. Now, he didn't need to talk about his past, didn't need to lie. No, maybe this is just what he needed.

Marissa Cooper sighed as she sat on her bed. She still couldn't get Ryan out of her mind. His tall, tan, muscular body and his blue eyes. She wished she could see him again, talk to him. Tell him how she felt about him.

She looked around her room, bored. There was no one here, not even Summer. She didn't have any other friends, not after the incident with Luke in Tijuana. She didn't feel like going shopping, and there wasn't a movie that she wanted to see. She sighed again, life could really be a bore sometimes.

She picked up her book, Dear John, and started to read. Nicholas Sparks was one of her favorite authors. The way he wrote the notebook, and a walk to remember, was just brilliant. She let her mind drift off to John and Savannah, and their problems……

She was just at the part where John had to leave, when her dad call for her. She sighed, and put the book down. She wanted to know what was going to happen. Would he still be with her? Would she still want him? Would they find a way to be together? She needed to know what happened next in the book.

She walked to her dad's office quickly, not wasting any time. "Yeah?" She asked, annoyed that he'd called her.

"Could you take out the trash please? Our housekeeper is out on vacation and I'm busy." He said, barely glancing up at her.

She sighed, "Whatever." And walked away. The book was still in her mind. She wanted to read it so bad. She wouldn't though, her dad asked her to do something.

She walked downstairs to the trashcan. She hated the trash. She was always afraid that she'd get it all over her clothes or something. She grimaced when she accidentally dropped some of the trash and tried to pick it up. "Eeww!"

When she finally got the trash back in the trash bag, and had the trash bag tied, she headed outside. She walked down the driveway, when she saw a figure standing there. She couldn't make out who it was at first, but something looked familiar about him. He was tall, over six feet tall. He had sandy blonde hair, and she could have sworn he looked like, no, it couldn't be him? Could it…….

Ryan Atwood stood at the end of the Cohen's driveway, waiting for Seth to come out and drive him back to his hotel. He'd managed to escape any type of conversation about the bruises on his face or what he was doing in Newport. At one point, Sandy had hinted about it, but Ryan didn't reveal anything.

He heard grunting behind him and turned around. He was met by a pair of blue eyes that he could get lost in. He was confused though, she lived next door to Sandy. He saw her look away and he could see that she was struggling.

He walked towards her, ready to help. She had a trash bag in her hand, and it was obvious that she didn't take out the trash a lot. He rushed to take it from her, and took it to the trashcan that was at the end of the driveway. She murmured a quick, "Thanks," but didn't look up.

Ryan cleared his throat, trying to get her to look at him. She looked up, and he could see the confusion in her eyes. "I always find you in the most unexpected places." Ryan said, trying to make a joke.

She smiled, and Ryan's heart melted. "I could say the same for you." She looked into his eyes, and Ryan had to look away or he'd get lost. If he did, he didn't know if he'd ever come back.

"So, you live next door to Sandy?" Ryan asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah." She paused, looking down. "What are you doing at his house though, when I saw you this morning, I didn't think that you had any plans for today…." She stopped, looking at something behind his back.

Ryan turned around, confused. He then saw it, Seth, walking towards them. Ryan sighed, upset that his alone time with Marissa was over. Seth came up to them, hands in his pocket, and said, "Hi."

Ryan turned back to Marissa who was rolling her eyes at him. She turned back to Ryan and asked, "Do you have to go?"

Ryan nodded. He turned back to Seth, "Are you ready?" Seth just nodded, hands still in pocket, eyes on the ground.

They started for the car, when Ryan heard a voice. "I could drive you." Marissa said. He turned to her, and could see her blushing slightly. "I mean, if you want me to."

Ryan smiled, and turned to Seth once more. He gave him a look, asking for permission. Seth looked behind Ryan, to Marissa, and sighed. He nodded, and headed back to the house. Ryan turned to Marissa and said, "That's great."

Marissa blushed even more, and Ryan thought she looked adorable. She walked towards a car and they got in. When she turned the radio on, punk music started playing. Ryan was surprised, "Punk?"

Marissa nodded, "I'm angry." She joked. Ryan looked deep into her eyes though, and knew that she wasn't really joking. He wanted to know about her anger, know if he could help, but she turned back to driving and backed out of the driveway. "Where are we going?"

Ryan didn't really want to go to the motel though. He didn't want to leave Marissa, not yet. Then he remembered what she'd said about someone special and sighed, "The Mermaid Inn, I think it's called."

Marissa just nodded, but she seemed disappointed in a way. Or was he just imagining it? "Okay." She said. And awkward silence filled the car and Ryan couldn't take it. He didn't know what to say though. So the silence stayed. Not a sound could be heard except for the music playing in the background.

"So.." Ryan started. He didn't know what to say, but didn't want the silence. "How are you doing?" He couldn't help but think about how stupid that was.

She smiled. "I guess." She seemed to think about the question for a little bit. "I'm actually reading a book, Dear John, by Nicholas Sparks." She said. He laughed a bit and she seemed confused. "What?"

"Nicholas Sparks?"

"Yes, Nicholas Sparks. Is there a problem with that?" She asked, teasing him.

"No, no problem. But I bet I can tell a lot about you now."

She seemed interested. "Really, because I read Nicholas Sparks?"

Ryan nodded. "Yes, I can tell you your favorite movie at least."

"Well," She said. "Humor me." 

"Alright. So, you're favorite movie used to be A Walk To Remember because you read the book…" Marissa went in to protest but Ryan continued. "Then, you saw the Notebook, and loved it. So now your new favorite movie is the Notebook, but your second is A Walk To Remember." Ryan smiled, pleased with the look of shock on her face.

"How can you possibly know all that?" She asked.

"It's just a gift I have." He said, joking.

"Really, what else can you tell me?" She seemed amused.

"Umm, by what you ate last night, I'd say that you like junk food, and know you should stop, but you won't. You think about working out, but don't want to. You also like the lifeguard station, it's peaceful there." Ryan paused, looking at her driving. "And sometimes, it makes you feel like you can escape."

Marissa didn't say anything, just kept driving. Ryan turned to look out his window at the Newport scenery. They were passing the beach, and he could see all the tourists and surfers there, content in their own little lives. They arrived at the hotel before long, and Marissa turned to Ryan. "Here we are." Ryan just nodded and started to get out. "You're right, you know," Marissa said softly. Ryan turned to Marissa, and could see the hurt in her eyes. "People think that I have the perfect life." She paused. "But all I want to do is escape, find something else."

Ryan stood outside of the car. He couldn't leave her, not now. He shut the door and walked over to her side. He opened the door and she looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face. "Come on, let's go for a walk on the beach, or on the pier."

She nodded and turned off the car and unbuckled her seatbelt. Ryan reached out his hand to help her, and the minute that their fingers touched, he felt the spark. The electricity flew through his body. She got out, with Ryan's help, and smiled. "Thanks." She said, suddenly shy.

Ryan shut the car door and smiled also. He moved a strand of hair from Marissa's face, and said, "No problem." She blushed, and looked into his eyes. His hand was still on her cheek, and he could feel the sparks between them. The air was charged, and all he wanted to do was lean in and kiss her.

Their lips were inches apart, and he leaned in a little closer. He could feel her breath on his lips, smell her vanilla lip gloss. She closed the gap between them, brushing her lips against his. He felt her soft lips on his and smiled, knowing that this was what he'd wanted since he first saw her.

She pulled back after a couple of minutes, and stared into his eyes. He reached for her hand and grabbed it again, lacing together their fingers. They started walking towards the beach, neither knowing what to say.

When they reached the lifeguard station, Ryan turned to her. "What does this mean now?" Then he remembered about the special someone and mentally kicked himself for kissing her.

"I don't know, are we together?" She asked, becoming shy again. He could have sworn that there was hope in her voice. He sighed. "What?" She asked, suddenly looking uneasy.

He took a few steps back, unlacing their fingers. She had a look of disappointment in her eyes, and Ryan was confused. "What about the other person?" He asked. He wouldn't interfere, it wasn't the Atwood way.

She seemed confused. "What other person?" Ryan was confused now.

"This morning, you said that you'd met someone special." Ryan said. How could she not remember?

Then, a look of understanding came over Marissa. She looked down and said, "I meant you." She looked back up at him, "You're the special person." She looked afraid. "I thought you knew what I meant."

Ryan shook his head no. "I thought you meant someone else." He looked deep into her eyes, a sudden happiness coming over him. "I'm the special person?"

She nodded, hope in her eyes. "Yeah." She took a step towards him. "So, what does this mean for us?"

Ryan didn't feel like talking though. He walked towards her and took her in his arms, connecting their lips. She immediately started kissing back and he smiled into the kiss. He was overcome with joy, he was the one she wanted.

When he finally pulled back, breathless, he said, "Does that answer your question?"

She smiled and said, "Not really, I think you need to do it again."

Ryan smiled once more and connected their lips once more. This was the happiest moment of his life and he couldn't believe it. He put his hand through her hair, deepening the kiss. She pulled back and said, "My dad's gonna wonder where I went."

Ryan sighed and said, "Do you really have to call him?" He left a kiss on the tip of her nose.

She nodded and walked to a more private area away from him. He smiled as he watched her walk away from him. She flipped open her phone and called him. She smiled and waved at him while talking and Ryan couldn't help but wonder when he got so lucky.


	10. Chapter 10

-1Chapter 11

**A/N I thought it would be fun to write a post, so here it is. Read my one shot, Too Long, if you haven't already. Also, in the next chapter, we're going to put to rest the whole Jack beating Ryan drama. Thanks for the reviews, R/R, enjoy.**

Ryan Atwood woke to the sound of a little kid crying. He went outside and saw that people were already at the beach. He sighed looking at the clock, eight in the morning. Way to early for his liking. He smiled thinking of yesterday though. Him and Marissa were finally together. It may have only been two days that he knew her, but it felt like forever.

He grabbed his cell phone debating whether to call her or not. It was early in the morning, but there was always the chance that she was awake, right? They had exchanged phone numbers last night before she drove back home. His thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing though. He glanced down at the caller id, it was Marissa.

He smiled as he answered the phone. "Hey, I was just going to call you." He said.

"Really, that's good because I was afraid I'd wake you up." She said. He smiled hearing her voice.

"No, some kid outside beat you to it."

"Aww, I'm sorry." She said. "You want to meet for breakfast? We could go to the diner, or something…." She trailed off. Ryan smiled thinking of how she was probably biting her lip, waiting for his response. He noticed she did this when she was nervous.

"The diner sounds great, I haven't eaten there for breakfast yet." He said. She'd told him how good the pancakes were also.

She gasped, "You seriously haven't eaten at the diner for breakfast yet? I thought you just hadn't eaten their pancakes" She said, as though it was the worst thing in the world.

Ryan laughed, "No, I haven't."

She said, "Well then, we're defiantly going to the diner now."

Ryan smiled when she said that. "Yeah, I'll pick you up in half an hour."

"Okay, see you then." Marissa hung up the phone and Ryan went to get ready. His life was wonderful right now. Now if he could only forget about Jack's last words. _How does it feel, knowing no one wants you?_

Marissa Cooper practically skipped downstairs when she heard the doorbell ring. She opened it to reveal Ryan and her heart skipped a beat. His hair was slightly damp, probably because he took a shower. He was wearing a black button up shirt over his wife beater. He had on jeans, and his black boots. He stood taller than her, and she smiled up at him. "Hey."

He leaned in and kissed her softly. "Hey." He said when he pulled back. "Are you ready to go?"

She smiled once more and said, "Yeah." She grabbed his hand and they walked to his car, him opening her door. She got in and he shut it, going over to his side. He entered and started the car. Marissa couldn't remove the smile on her face as she watched him drive. He was perfect.

On the way to the diner, there was a comfortable silence in the air. Marissa held Ryan's hand, and loved how her hand fit into his perfectly. When they arrived, he opened her door for him again and in return, she kissed his cheek.

They made their way to the booth that they had shared dinner in and Ryan looked down at the menu. "What do you recommend?" he asked her.

She didn't even have to look at the menu. "I'll order for you." She smiled an innocent smile, "If you trust me."

Ryan smiled and reached for her hand. "Of course I trust you." And Marissa could feel her smile get even bigger, if that was even possible.

"Okay then." She called for the waitress and ordered for them, the smile never leaving her face.

When the waitress left, she turned back to him. He asked, "So, how was your night?"

She smiled and said, "It was great, how about you?"

"Same as yours." He was quiet for a while and Marissa wondered what was wrong.

"What's on your mind?" She asked, concerned for him. He didn't say anything though, just shrugged. Marissa wanted to know what was bothering him, "Ryan, you can tell me."

He looked into her eyes, and she realized that there was a big problem. It had nothing to do with her though. She could only wonder what it was…..

Ryan Atwood went through the rest of the day with fake smiles and forced laughter. Yeah, he was happy to be with Marissa, but Jack's words were haunting him. Jack had told him he was worthless for the past couple of years. And as he watched Marissa laugh and saw the twinkle in her eyes, he couldn't help but wonder how long until she broke up with him. How long until she decided he was worthless.

He was now driving her home. He hadn't said much all day, and didn't plan to say much later. As they arrived at her house, she asked, "Do you want to come in for a little while? I don't think my dad will mind."

Ryan smiled a sincere smile and said, "yeah, I'd like that." They walked into the house to be greeted by Jimmy Cooper. He didn't seem very happy. Ryan immediately dropped Marissa's hand.

"Mr. Cooper." Ryan said. He didn't seem very happy still. Ryan noticed that he was eying Ryan's face and he suddenly became self conscious.

"Ryan, may I talk to you in private please?" Jimmy gave Marissa a look that told her to leave them alone. She sighed and walked upstairs and Ryan wished that she would stay down here and give him strength. "What happened?" Jimmy asked, his voice becoming soft.

"Nothing." Ryan replied. He wasn't ready to talk about it just yet.

"I know something happened, let me help you."

"It's over and done, you can't help me anymore." Ryan sighed and added, "Besides, you've done more than enough."

Jimmy didn't believe him though. "When you're ready, me and Sandy are here to talk." Jimmy called Marissa down. When she arrived, she looked afraid. Ryan gave her a reassuring smile and she seemed to relax some. "Marissa, the basketball is throwing a party tonight. And, Ryan's going to need something to wear. I thought you could help him."

Marissa smiled. "That I can do." She went over to Ryan and grabbed his hand. "Come on, we're going shopping." Ryan gave Jimmy a look and he started laughing.

That Night

Ryan finished getting dressed and put on his jacket. He heard a knocking on the door and opened it to reveal Marissa. He smiled and she leaned in and kissed him. "You look good." She said, letting herself in.

"You don't look so bad yourself." He said. Despite his bad mood, she really could take his breathe away.

She sat down on his bed and said, "Are you ready for the party?"

Ryan sighed and sat down next to her. "As ready as I'm ever going to be."

She put her head on his shoulder and reached for his hand. "I hate these parties. You always feel like everyone is watching you, because they are. They're also really boring." She smiled, then kissed his cheek. "It's a good thing I have you there."

Ryan felt himself smile too. "Yeah, a really good thing." He leaned in and kissed her. She deepened the kiss and he pushed her onto the bed, climbing on top of her. He started kissing her again but she shoved him back.

"Not right now, you're going to wrinkle our clothes." She got up and straitened herself up.

Ryan got up and kissed her again. "Okay, now I'm ready." She giggled and they walked out hand in hand, not knowing what the night was going to bring them.


	11. Chapter 11

-1**A/N The actual basketball part will come in the next chapter. Thanks for all the reviews, R/R, enjoy!**

Marissa Cooper sighed as they got into the car and headed for the party. Ryan seemed really distant today. She wanted to know what was wrong with him. Their time yesterday was amazing. Whether they were talking or making out, it was perfect. It was just what she needed to escape. Then though, today, he started acting weird.

He wouldn't look at her at times. When he did, there was a blank expression or a forged smile. She could tell when people were lying, and he did all the time. He didn't talk to her, unless she asked him a question. Even if she did, he didn't always give an answer.

She looked over at him and smiled. He may not be talking, but he was as handsome as ever. She reached for his hand and held it. He didn't look at her, but she could see the soft smile on his face. It was one of the few genuine that she'd seen from him today.

Yeah, they only knew each other for a couple of days, but her feelings were real. She liked Ryan, and she really hoped that he had the same feelings for her. He'd kiss her, but not the way he did yesterday. Today, it was almost like it was forced.

When they arrived at the yacht club, he let go of her hand and walked around to open her door. She smiled at him. He always was sweet like that. "Thanks." She said, a shy smile on her face.

He just nodded and smiled genuinely at her. Maybe this party wouldn't be so bad. Maybe the Ryan she'd known yesterday would come back. He held her hand and kissed her cheek. "Are you ready for the party?" He asked her softly.

"Yeah." She smiled back at him. "I'm used to these parties though, the question is, are you ready?"

He looked deep into her eyes and she felt the usual connection. "As long as you're right there beside me." He looked away and together they walked into the building.

Ryan Atwood felt Marissa's hand in his own and smiled to himself. He was lucky right now. He frowned though. How long would his luck really last though? He was from Chino, and he doesn't have the best luck. He has bruises on his face to prove it.

Marissa seemed upset by something. Maybe she could sense something wrong. Maybe she knew something he didn't. Or maybe she finally realized that she was better than he was and was debating whether to be with him or not. If she was, he could only hope that she would pick him.

As he walked into the party, he saw Sandy and Jimmy. They waved him over and him and Marissa walked over to them. Sandy seemed surprised to see Ryan with her, but Jimmy just smiled. "Hey Ryan, glad you could make it." Sandy said. Ryan just smiled though. They really didn't need him in this party. Sandy continued. "Someone wants to see you, she kept calling today looking for you."

Ryan was confused. Who would want to see him? He looked over to Marissa who looked just as shocked, if not more. She seemed uneasy about the situation. Ryan couldn't understand why though. Then it hit him. She must think an old girlfriend came back. Ryan just smiled and said, "Who?"

Sandy seemed uneasy with replying. "Your mom." Ryan felt as though he was going to faint though. His mom was looking for him? There was no way, she was the one that abandoned him, remember?

"My mom?" Ryan looked over to Marissa who seemed a little relieved. When she saw his expression though, she frowned again.

She looked up at him and asked quietly, "What's wrong with your mom?" Ryan didn't answer though. What wasn't wrong with his mom?

Jimmy answered his question though. "Your mom really wants to see you Ryan. She seemed relieved when she found out you were here." Jimmy paused and looked uneasy. "Is it okay if you see her?"

Ryan was still upset, "She's here right now?" Jimmy nodded and Ryan continued, "But what if I don't want to talk to her?" 

Jimmy didn't answer so Sandy stepped in. "Ryan, she's come all this way------"

But Ryan wouldn't let him finish his sentence. "She came all this way for what, huh? She's the one who abandoned ME, I didn't want to leave." Marissa tried to say something but Ryan wouldn't let her. He took his hands from Marissa and gestured to his face. "This, do you see it. You see how screwed up my face is?! That's because of HER boyfriend."

Ryan stormed off. He was angry. How dare she look for him, want to see him. She's the one who abandoned him. She's the one who made his life hell. He didn't want to see her ever again. He didn't want to talk about her, didn't even want to think about her.

Little did he know that his mom had heard the whole thing.

Ryan Atwood still wasn't cooled down a half hour later. He was still angry at his mom, angry at Jimmy and Sandy for allowing her to come, and angry at himself for revealing his secret. He didn't want to go back to the party, he liked it out here. He'd walked to the beach and was on the sand. He didn't care if his clothes got sandy. It didn't matter to him.

He heard footsteps approaching, and expected it to be Marissa. He was actually surprised that she hadn't followed him here earlier. He turned his head, smiling, but his smile disappeared when he saw her. His mom. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his anger apparent.

"I wanted to see how you were." She said, a soft expression on her face.

"I don't want you here though." He shot back. "You abandoned me, remember."

She sighed, and walked towards him. He got up and took a few steps back. "I know I did, and it was a mistake."

Ryan still didn't care though. His blood was boiling when he saw her. She was the enemy. She was the one that didn't care. "You think?"

"Ryan, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done it, but with the drinking and Jack….."

"Oh, so blame this on him now." Ryan said fiercely.

She sighed and took another step towards him. "I know it's my fault, and I shouldn't blame it on him, but I am sorry."

Ryan took another step back. "Sorry doesn't cut it though." Ryan said softly. His anger was beginning to disappear and in its place was sadness. Deep sorrow.

"I know, Ry." She said. Ryan could remember when she would call him that. It was when he was a little kid. She had started calling him that when he was three years old. He had just learned how to bounce his small basketball his dad had bought him. _Way to go, Ry._ It seemed like a lifetime ago that she'd first used it.

"Where's Jack?" Ryan asked. It was the most important question of all.

"He's at home." She said softly, not making eye contact.

"You mean you're still going to be with that jerk?" Ryan asked.

His mom looked up. "I don't have much of a choice." She looked around the beach. "I don't have a job, and I have a problem with drinking. It's not like anyone's going to hire me."

Ryan wouldn't let her go though. They'd just made up, he couldn't let her go. "You can stay here with me, I'll find an apartment and you can stay in one room."

His mom shook her head though. "No." She looked at something in the distance, and Ryan could see Marissa slowly making her way to them. She was hesitant, probably afraid to intrude. He gave her a small smile and she quickened her pace. When she arrived, Ryan took her hand in his and kissed it gently. He turned back to his mom who was smiling at the exchange. "You have a life here already." She sighed. "Even if you've only been gone a couple of days."

She turned around and started walking away. Ryan couldn't let her go though. He couldn't let her leave without a proper goodbye. "Mom!" She turned around and gave him a questioning look. Ryan let go of Marissa's hand and walked towards her, giving her a hug. When he pulled back, he said, "Don't be a stranger."

She just smiled and nodded. Ryan turned back to Marissa who looked happy. He walked up to her and said, "Hey."

She smiled shyly and said, "Hey."

Ryan put his hands on her waist and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting." She just nodded, waiting for him to continue. "I've had a lot on my mind."

She gave him a peck on the lips and Ryan smiled when she pulled back. She said, "Tell me about it." She looked deep into his eyes and said, "Talk to me."

Ryan took his hands off her waist and sat back down on the sand. He patted the spot next to him and Marissa sat down. He pulled her closer to him to where she was leaning on him. He kissed her cheek and held her hands, playing with them.

"I guess it all started when my dad got arrested. My mom started drinking a lot and started attracting drunk men too." Ryan paused, looking out to the ocean. He'd never told anyone this story, no one ever wanted to know. "She brought home a guy named Tom Harper first. He said that I was making too much noise one day and he hit me in the stomach. At the time, I was ten."

He looked at Marissa who had a disturbed expression on her face. Ryan continued, "It only got worse after that. I thought it was normal, until I saw that other kids had loving parents, and not ones that hit them. So I tried to fight back a couple of times. That only ended up in a broken rib and arm." Ryan sighed. "Then, Jack came along. He was the worst of the worst. He would hurt me physically and mentally."

Marissa was confused, "What do you mean?"

"He told me I was worthless, and no one wanted me. He also said that was pathetic, and a he even treated the neighbor's dog better than me. It was horrible. When I got told about the try outs for your dad's team, I didn't think I'd make it. After all these years of being told you're worthless, you start to believe it yourself. When I got in though, I thought that him and my mom would be proud of me. My mom seemed proud, but Jack tried to convince her I was still worthless. So I got abandoned by my mom."

Marissa seemed shocked, "I never thought anyone's life could be like that. You read about it in books, even see it in movies, but you never think it's real."

Ryan smiled though, and she seemed slightly confused. "But the thing is, if I'd never been abandoned, you and I wouldn't me together right now." Ryan leaned in and gave her a tender kiss on the lips. He pulled back and said, "Now that out of everything would be the worse thing to happen to me."

Marissa smiled at his words. "Me too." She kissed him once again, this time a little longer. Ryan pulled back and pulled her closer to him. Together they watched the ocean and looked up at the dark sky. Together, they'd get through anything, right?


	12. Chapter 12

-1Ryan Atwood dribbled down the court, faked right and passed left to Seth Cohen. Seth though, was unaware of the move and was smacked by the ball in the face. Ryan snickered and walked over to Seth who was on the ground, whining about stupid sports and basketball in particular.

Ryan was laughing hard by the time he reached Seth. "Hey, when you said you couldn't play basketball, I didn't know you meant it." Ryan said as he offered Seth his hand.

Seth denied though and got up on his own, glaring at Ryan the whole time. "Haha, very funny Ryan." He dusted himself off and then continued, "you could at least tell me heads up."

Ryan rolled his eyes, "Then what's the point of surprising the defense Seth?" Ryan turned to Sandy and said, "I think it's time that we end practice." He shot a look at Seth, "Someone's a little off today."

Ryan heard Sandy sigh and mutter, "He's always off." Ryan smiled and Sandy motioned towards the rest of the team, "Okay boys, that's enough for today, hit the showers." Everyone else quickly ran out of the gym and Ryan smiled. Everything was finally looking good.

He turned and saw Marissa making her way over to him. He smiled, even things with her were good. Great actually. Ever since they'd had their conversation on the beach about his child hood two weeks ago, they were closer than ever.

She reached him and said, "Hey you."

"Hey, I didn't know you were coming over for practice."

She smiled, "I wanted to see you."

"I'm going to go take a shower, will you wait?"

She nodded her head, "yeah, but hurry up." Her eyes were teasing, "Or I might leave."

Ryan quickly went and took a shower. When he was finished, he walked back to Marissa. She leaned in and kissed him softly. She mumbled into his lips, "I wanted to give you a proper hello."

Ryan pulled back and replied, "I like your hellos." She giggled and he leaned in and kissed her again. He pulled back after a couple of minutes when he heard someone approaching. Seth came over and Ryan put his arm around Marissa, pulling her close to him.

"Hey man, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the diner or something." He looked over to Marissa, "you can come too."

Ryan was afraid of how Marissa would react. She wasn't exactly the nicest person to Seth. She must have sensed his uneasiness because she replied, "That'd be great." Ryan leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She looked up into his eyes and he felt his whole world light up.

"Really, wow, let's go then," Seth said. The all walked, Ryan in the middle, out of the gym. A new friendship, what could possibly go wrong?


	13. Chapter 13

-1**A/N Sorry I haven't written for this in a looong time, but I've been busy with school, and my other four stories. I shall give a list of them now. If you like my story, you should also read: Life's Puzzle, Brought back to life, So you think you can dance, and Diary of a broken soul. Thanks for the Reviews, R/R, enjoy!**

Ryan Atwood looked around at the crowd. Thousands of people cheering. Thousands of fans, thousands of haters. Thousands of reasons to live. Thousands of people, all here for him and his team. It's game day, their first game day of the season.

He looked over to his team that was warming up. Seth just stood there, a blank look on his face, and watched the others warm up. His newest friend, Jake Bryan, was practicing his free throw shots, making most of them. He looked over to the coaches that were talking amongst themselves, and then he looked out at the crowd again.\

There was a section where people were wearing his opponent's jerseys and spirit shirts. The San Antonio Spurs, one of his favorite teams, even if he lived three states away. He looked to another section that was mostly people supporting the Newport Piranhas. One of them looked his way and waved, screaming his name. He just lifted his hand a bit and gave the Atwood wave back.

He looked into the other sections, and then to the one seat that mattered most. He turned his head, slowly, making sure he didn't seem desperate. His eyes found hers, and he smiled. Marissa was here. He looked around to make sure the coaches weren't watching, and then jogged towards her. "Hey, you came." he said, trying not to sound too happy.

She smiled and said, "Of course I did, I'm your girlfriend, right?" She looked at him shyly, and he smiled even wider.

"Of course you are, I wouldn't have it any other way." He said. He leaned in and captured her lips in his own. He forgot where he was suddenly, and moved his hands to her waist. He heard the sounds of a camera's clicks, and he pulled away. "Looks like we're caught." he said with a smirk as one of the camera men ran off, holding the camera like a trophy.

Marissa giggled and said, "I didn't know we were hiding anything."

"I meant, we're going to be in the magazines, I can see it now: New player, Ryan Atwood, has beautiful girlfriend, but how long will it last?" He said, chuckling.

Marissa didn't find it very funny and asked, "How long are we going to last?" She looked away from him, avoiding his gaze.

He put his hand under her chin and lifted her head to look at him, "As long as you'll keep me."

She smiled and said, "I guess you're stuck with me for a really long time then."

"And I'm alright with that." He heard Jimmy calling him and said, "I have to go warm up." And kissed her on the forehead one last time.

He jogged over to Jimmy who didn't seem happy. "Enough of the socializing with Marissa, you have work to do." Ryan gave him a confused look. "Go." Jimmy said, handing Ryan a basketball, "I don't want my star player to lose focus, even for my daughter." Jimmy said with a small smile, and Ryan felt relieved. Jimmy wasn't really mad at him.

"I won't let you down." Ryan said confidently.

Jimmy looked out at the others on the court and sighed, "You're not who I'm worried about."

Ryan laughed and said, "I'll get them into shape, don't worry."

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

It was the last thirty seconds of the game, and it was Newport's ball. They were down by three, and Ryan wasn't in the game. As far as anyone was concerned, they were toast. They were going to lose, no doubt about it.

Ryan was on the bench, staring out at his teammates. They needed him. "Come on, put me in." he begged Jimmy for the millionth time.

"No, you need to sit on the bench." Jimmy gave him a concerned look. "You have a hurt ankle, and like it or not, you're sitting the rest of the game out."

Ryan sighed, stupid ankle. He'd been jumping up for the ball, and landed wrong, spraining his ankle slightly. It hurt, but he wasn't about to tell anybody that. His team needed him, and an ankle wasn't going to keep him down. "It doesn't even hurt."

"Walk on it then." Jimmy said, challenging Ryan. Ryan got up slowly and tried walking. He winced and almost fell over. Jimmy pushed him down onto the bench, "I thought so."

Ryan looked at the clock, they had twenty seconds to go now, and somehow, they'd turned over the ball. He groaned, there was no way they were getting the ball back. He looked over to the clock 5...4.…3...2...1...they lost.

The team came over to him, disappointed. This was their first game, and they lost it. Ryan smiled despite everything happening. He was happy. He just lost an important game, but he was extremely happy. "What's that look for? Are you making fun of us?" Seth asked.

"No, I just realized, that it doesn't matter whether we win or lose." Ryan said with a smile. "All that matters is that we have each other afterwards." 

"There's no reason to get emotional." Seth said.

"Think of it this way, I only sprained my ankle, and I could have broken my foot. We lost the game, but we could have lost by twenty points, not three." Ryan continued to smile, "think of things positive, that's what got me through living in Chino."

Seth just shrugged and walked off. Jimmy and Sandy smiled at Ryan and Ryan smiled back. He looked around until he found who he was looking for, Marissa. She was off to the side, talking to her mom. Ryan watched her smile, and the sparkle in her eyes. She was beautiful, and all his.

She turned from her mom and locked eyes with him. He smiled and waved her over, since it would hurt to walk to her. She slowly and gracefully walked towards him. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked, concerned.

"I'm fine." He said with a smile. "It kind of does hurt though." he admitted.

She sat down on the bench next to him and put her head on his shoulder. He smiled and put his arm around her. They sat like that for a couple of minutes, happy with the silence. And even though he'd just sprained his ankle, and couldn't play much more than a quarter and a half, and even though they just lost their first game. He was happy. He was genuinely happy for one of the first times in his life. And no matter what he told anyone, he knew it was because of the person sitting next to him that made him feel this way.


	14. Chapter 14

**New Player Ryan Atwood of the Piranhas Gets Cozy With The Coach's Daughter. Is it Romance, or Trying to Get In Her Pants?**

**Local basketball player, Ryan Atwood, was seen kissing his coach Jimmy Cooper's daughter. They seemed to really have been hitting it off during the game, and weren't afraid to show it. Is it love, or lust?**

**Ryan Atwood has come from a troubled background, originally from Chino, California. What's he doing with the coach's daughter though? Is he using her to be on the team? Most people think so, because why else would the coach choose him of all people? With such a troubled background, doesn't he belong in let's say, jail?**

**Another possibility is that he's just trying to get some action, if you know what we mean. The coach's daughter is a beautiful girl, why wouldn't he try to take advantage? Besides, people like him do it all the time, what makes this time different?**

**We'll be sure to keep you updated as we know more information on this romance. We may be wrong, but, chances are we aren't.**

Ryan Atwood stared at the paper in front of him with disgust. How could they say that about him? He wasn't using Marissa to get on the team, he hadn't even known her at the time. They were lying, and they were nosy. He clenched his fists. It was things like this that he was afraid of when he heard the camera click.

He wished people would judge him after they got to know him. He wished people weren't such idiots, especially reporters. If they ever saw or heard him with Marissa, they'd see the depth in the feelings he had for her.

He sighed and wondered if Marissa had seen the paper yet. If she did, he had nothing to worry about, right? She wouldn't believe them, would she? Because she had to know that he cared deeply for her. So deeply that it scared him sometimes. But she wouldn't buy into these lies…..she couldn't.

Because that would ruin everything, and he didn't know if he could live without her.

Marissa Cooper stared at the paper in disbelief. How dare they! She looked across the table at her father that sighed. "I knew something was going to happen sooner or later." He said angrily.

"What do you mean, you knew?" She asked, confused. How could her dad know anything as horrible as this would happen?

He sighed and looked at the paper again. "I knew they'd say something like this. It's a pretty good story if you think about it." He looked up at her, "They'll get a lot of money off of it. The truth is, when you and Ryan started dating, I didn't know if it was a great idea." He sighed, "I still don't know if it is."

Marissa couldn't believe her ears. Her own father was telling her that he didn't know if dating Ryan was a good idea? She felt like she was dreaming. "What do you mean, you don't know if me dating Ryan is a good idea?" She asked, trying to keep herself controlled.

"Because something like this…" he pointed to the paper, "Could happen." He paused and looked intently at her, "And sooner or later, one of you is going to get hurt."

Marissa didn't want to hear anymore, she couldn't. She needed to get out of the house. She got up and found her purse and her keys. Her dad was looking at her, dumbstruck. "I'm going out for a while….don't wait up."

And she walked out of the house, trying not to cry. It wasn't so much the article, or the mean lies that they said about her and Ryan in it. It was the fact that her father didn't approve of her and Ryan…..the one thing that meant the most to her. And that hurt her more than she thought it would.

Because before Ryan came, she didn't have much. She had all the money and things she could ever want, yeah, but she didn't have many real friends. She'd had one named Summer once, but she moved away three years ago and hadn't called or written since. Her dad was the only person that she could talk to, and he didn't approve of Ryan being with her.

She drove without knowing where she was going. She ended up at the lifeguard station, staring out into the waves. She had been there for about an hour when Ryan called. She answered the phone, but didn't have much enthusiasm. "Hey." She said.

"Hey." he paused and then asked, "What's wrong, you sound upset." And despite whatever was going on with the outside world, she smiled. Because Ryan really did care for her, she knew that.

"Have you seen the paper?" she asked, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "Because me and my dad have."

He sounded worried, "You don't believe it do you?" He sighed, "Because none of it's true, Marissa, I would never do that to you. I wouldn't even think of it."

She smiled, "I never thought that it was true." She heard him exhale in relief. "I know you better than that….right?"

"Yeah, you know me better than anyone." She could almost see him now, smiling while talking to her.

"I'm glad." She sighed, remembering her dad's concern for her and Ryan. "Do you think this is all a mistake?" She asked.

"What?" He asked, sounding confused. "The paper?"

"No, us." She said softly.

"No, never." He seemed to get worried, "Do you?"

"No, yes, I don't know." She said. She really didn't. Maybe her dad was right. Maybe they should have never gotten together, and never gotten close. Because someone was bound to get hurt in the long run.

She waited for his answer. But all she got was silence, and that made her sadder than anything the paper could ever say.


	15. Chapter 15

Marissa Cooper was getting scared. Scared of the tension, scared of the thought that this might be the end. The moment of truth. Would they make it or not? But she was mostly scared of the silence on the other end of the line. The silence that made her wish he'd yell, scream, shout at her through the phone. Anything, but the silence. The deafening silence.

"Say something, please." She pleaded. He sighed on the other end, and she felt a warm substance make its way down her cheek.

"What is there to say?" He said, defeat ringing in his tone. "You obviously think we shouldn't be together, what do I say to that?" And she could hear the hurt in his tone, the pain of her words making it hard for him to go on.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said." She started. "It's just, my dad, he thinks that maybe we shouldn't have gotten together." She exhaled slowly, "that maybe, this whole thing could have been avoided."

"What thing?" He questioned. "The article? Marissa, I don't believe anything they've said, and neither should you. If you do..." he paused, probably afraid to say the words, "Then maybe we shouldn't be together. Because if you believe it, then it means you don't trust me."

"I do trust you." She said softly, "More than anyone, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"I'm scared that sooner or later, you'll realize that you can be with any other girl besides me. And you'll think that maybe, I'm not good enough for you?"

He laughed then. A laugh that made Marissa question him. "Me, too good for you?" He asked, "I always thought you were too good for me."

She smiled, though she couldn't understand why. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying..." and she could hear the smile in his voice, "There's nothing to be worried about."

"Really?"

"Yes." he paused, and then added, "And i'm also saying, we should go out tonight. I don't have a game, and there isn't a party or anything planned."

She felt herself get even happier, "I'd love to."

"Okay, tonight, eight o'clock, the diner?" He asked.

"Sounds perfect." She said, and life really did seem perfect, if only for the moment.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N Woohoo! I finally wrote a longer chapter. I've missed writing these longer chapters, but I've just been so busy, and sick too. So anyways, thanks for the reviews. I want you all to know, that no matter what happens in the future, I am a R/M fan, and this is an R/M story, so there's nothing to worry about. I'm not saying that the road won't be rocky, but you'll all be glad with it when it's done. So R/R, and enjoy!**

Ryan Atwood looked around the diner, but didn't see her. He decided to just go sit at their normal table, he was early anyways. He was really excited about their date tonight. With the tension from the paper, spending some time together would really help them. He thought of the paper and felt a shiver go down his spine. It could have caused him and Marissa to break up if they hadn't been careful.

Thinking of his conversation earlier with Marissa, he sighed. What was that about anyways? She was really confident, and next she was questioning their relationship. He just didn't get it….what got into her? Was she really that upset about the paper, or was it something more?

He saw her enter and felt his breathe catch in his throat. As always, she was stunning. She looked around and spotted him and smiled. He felt his whole world light up at the sight of her. He smiled back and she walked over to him. She sat down across from him and leaned in, brushing her lips against his. "Hey." she mumbled against his lips.

"Hey." he said, pulling back. He reached for her hand and held it in his own. It was warm and soft, and made his whole arm tingle. "What have you been up to today?" He asked, flashing her a big grin.

"Nothing really, just waiting for it to be time to see you." She said, looking away shyly. He lifted her chin to look into her eyes and she leaned in once again, closing the gap between their lips. "Mmmm." she murmured.

They were interrupted by the waitress clearing her throat. They both looked at her, giving her a sheepish look. "What can I get you?" The waitress asked, giving them a disapproving look.

Ryan was the first to say anything, "Two Cheeseburgers, two orders of chili fries, and two cokes." The waitress wrote it down and walked away. Ryan turned to Marissa who was smiling at him. "What?"

"I love it when you order." She said, giving him a shy smile. "I love it that you know what I want."

"I'll have to order more often then." He said, smiling widely at her.

"So, what are we going to do after we eat?" she asked.

"I was thinking that we could go back to my apartment, and watch a movie." He suggested, hoping she'd like it.

"Okay, but what movie?" She questioned, a suspicious look on her face.

"That's up to me…" He smirked when he saw her pout. "But I'm sure you'll like it."

"Oh really, and I'm sure that you chose some movie where people blow up…" She said, still pouting slightly. He smiled at her, finding her completely adorable.

"You never know." He paused and then said, "And you shouldn't think the worst of me, really, is there no trust?" he meant it as a joke, but suddenly the teasing atmosphere changed and they got serious.

"Of course I trust you." she said softly. He let his mind drift off to the conversation that they had earlier and sighed.

"I know, I was just kidding." He said, avoiding her gaze.

"I know, but about earlier…" She started.

He wouldn't let her finish though. He didn't want to talk about earlier, only now. He wanted to go back to teasing each other. "Let's not talk about earlier."

"But we need to." She protested against him. "Because if we don't, it's eventually going to come between us.

"Look…" he started to say, but was interrupted by the waitress with their food. "Thanks." he mumbled in her direction, and started eating. He avoided any eye contact with Marissa, and they ate in silence. When they were done, they drove back to his apartment. He could feel the tension between them, and he knew that they needed to talk. "Do you want to watch a movie?" He asked.

"I guess." She sighed.

"What's your problem?" He asked, getting frustrated with her.

"My problem? What about you?" She asked, angrily.

"What have I done? I haven't said anything…."

"Exactly." She said softly. "We need to talk." She pleaded with him. "Please."

"About what? The fact that you were questioning our relationship earlier?" He asked, not trying to cover up the pain that her words had caused him.

She sighed and walked closer to him. He wouldn't let her get near him though. He saw the painful expression that came over her face, but it didn't make him feel sorry. She deserved it, after the pain she caused him earlier. "I'm sorry, so sorry…"

"I know you are, but that doesn't make it any easier." he said softly. "Do you know how much your words hurt me? You're questioning the only good thing in my life." He gave her a hurt look, "All because of some stupid reporter. You should know me better than that."

"I know." She whispered. She looked at him, and he felt his heart melt because of her expression. She truly was sorry, he could tell. "But it's just, my dad said…" She trailed off though, getting a far away look on her face.

"Your dad said what?" He asked, confused.

"He said that he knew that this would happen, and he didn't know if we should be together, because sooner or later, someone's going to get hurt." Marissa sighed and looked at him again. "I guess I shouldn't have listened."

"No, you shouldn't have, because only you and me can decide what's going to come of our relationship." He finally took a step closer to her. "And to tell you the truth, I don't want us to break up, or be mad at some stupid comments made by other people." He gave her a small smile, and she closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his chest.

"I guess I shouldn't care what other people think about us." She whispered. He ran his hands through her hair, soothing her. "But with my dad, we've always been so close." She looked up into his eyes, "And him disapproving our relationship hurt me, you know."

"Yeah, I understand." he said softly. "But you shouldn't let that come in between us." He leaned his forehead against hers, "Because I couldn't stand it if someone or something made us grow distant and break up." He kissed her slowly and passionately. "I just can't lose you." he said, his emotions making it hard to speak.

"I can't lose you either, you're too important to me." She said, her voice thick with emotions. She leaned in and kissed him passionately. He ran his fingers around the side of her face, framing it with his hand.

"Promise me then, no more caring what other people think about us." He kissed her softly and quickly. "Just you and me from now on."

She nodded and said, "I promise." She kissed him again, running her hands through his hair. Together they fell back against his bed, never breaking their contact. He deepened the kiss by urging his tongue into her mouth. He massaged hers with his own and she moaned softly.

She ran her hands under his shirt and he moaned. He kissed down her neck and all over her face. He reconnected their lips and kissed her tenderly. Suddenly, he had to express his feelings for her, had to let her know how he felt. "Marissa Cooper…" He looked deep into her eyes, knowing that this would change everything. He got his courage up and finished his thought before he could back down. "I think I'm in love with you."

He watched her reaction, afraid of it. What if she didn't feel the same way. Before he could say anything, she kissed him passionately. When she pulled back, she smiled at him and said, "Ryan Atwood, I know I'm in love with you."


	17. Chapter 17

"Okay, gather round!" Ryan yelled to the team. They all grunted as the jogged slowly over to him. "Okay, thanks for coming this early…" Ryan started, but was cut off.

"Yeah, speaking of coming, why are we here?" Seth asked sleepily. "I was getting my beauty sleep, and you just ruin it."

"Come on, it's nine in the morning, I've been to practices at five in the morning, get over it Seth." He said, annoyed. "We need to improve on our playing, so I'm calling practices every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, nine o'clock, here. You don't come, you don't play, you don't play, you don't get paid." He heard grunts and moans and continued, "Coach's orders."

Seth was the first to voice protests, "They can't just do that, and why aren't they here telling us this?" Seth turned to everyone else, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going home to sleep."

"No you're not!" Sandy Cohen yelled, entering the gym. He had a tired expression on his face, and a bunch of papers in his hand. "No one leaves, no one moves, unless we instruct you to do so." He said, as Jimmy walked in.

Ryan stared at Jimmy, remembering what Marissa had said about him, that he didn't approve of them being together. Jimmy gave Ryan a smile, and Ryan looked away, ignoring him. Sandy continued, "We lost the other day, and that's our third lose in a row. I want us to improve." He looked over at Ryan and made eye contact, "Everyone needs to improve."

Ryan nodded and said, "You know you'll have my effort." He looked at Seth who was yawning and said, "Seth, wake up and listen, you need to help also."

"I know, I know." Seth mumbled. He glared at Ryan and Ryan smiled. Same old Seth.

Jimmy Cooper took a stand and said, "Now, since we're trying to make you guys better, we've decided a nice run is in order." He got all groans in response and said, "Alright, line up for suicides!"

The team all lined up on the baseline and got ready to run. Sandy yelled, "Go! Twenty suicides, for all the points we've lost for these past couple of games!" And they all started their run, Ryan the only one enjoying the run as a way to get his anger for Jimmy to dissolve. He couldn't be angry with his coach after all, who know what would happen then…..

Marissa Cooper walked down the beach and sighed, looking out at the waves. She could smell the salty sea air, and burnt popcorn that's smell was lingering in the air. She listened to the waves crash against the shore and listened to the other visitors on the beach, smiling as she saw two little kids making sand castles with their parents. She saw the look of happiness and joy on the parents' face as they stared at their kids and then looked into each other's eyes. They had the look of a young couple in love, even though they were probably in their late thirties. They leaned in and kissed each other passionately and Marissa smiled. She hoped that her and Ryan would have that someday, and undying love, even when they were older and had kids of their own.

She turned away and thought about this past week after they told each other those three words. She smiled to herself thinking about it, feeling herself become happier by the second. Her, Marissa Cooper, in love with someone? She never would have though it possible, especially someone like Ryan, who was so caring, and sweet….and completely hot. He was perfect, and he loved her back. Ryan Atwood loved her!

She felt completely stupid for ever doubting their relationship the other day. She'd just hurt the both of them after all. She shouldn't have listened to her stupid dad, just Ryan, the only person that mattered.

After they told each other they loved each other, they'd made out for a long time, neither wanting her to leave. She'd finally left after two in the morning, and she'd gone to bed that night, thinking of Ryan, and his smell and the way she felt when he kissed her. It was an amazing night, filled with dreams of her and him.

And the next day, they'd spent most of the day together. She had avoided any contact with her father, and their day was wonderful. They went to the beach, and ate all their meals at the diner. They'd constantly been kissing, not caring what anyone else said or thought about them. They were the happy couple in love, there was no need to care about anyone else's approval.

He had a game that night, so she'd gone to watch him. She never told him, and probably never will, but she loved watching him play basketball. She loved watching him advance the ball up the court, and try to shoot, because she knew that he loved to play, and watching him pursue his lifelong dream made her smile, and feel happy for him, for them.

She continued walking down the beach, until she got near the parking lot. She sighed, not really wanting to leave, but knowing Ryan would be getting out soon. She smiled thinking of him, and quickly walked towards her car, not paying attention to a particular brunette running towards her.

"COOP, I FOUND YOU!!!" Someone yelled. Marissa stopped dead in her tracks. The voice sounded familiar, very familiar. Almost like…

"Oh my God, Sum?!" She asked loudly, turning around. Summer came running full speed for her, almost knocking her down with a hug.

"Coop, oh my gosh! It's been, like, forever!" Summer said, pulling back, a large grin on her face. "You seem to be doing good too, center of attention I see."

Marissa looked at her with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean, center of attention?"

Summer reached into her large beach bag and pulled out two different magazines. She opened one of them and handed her an article about her and Ryan, with a picture of the two of them at the game a week and a half ago, kissing. Then she was handed another article of her and Ryan at the diner, probably from a week ago. She sighed, upset with the paparazzi. "See what I mean, center of the attention, just like when I was here."

Marissa rolled her eyes. "What makes them think they have the right to follow us?" She asked no one in particular. "They should leave me and Ryan alone, it's none of their business."

"Well, they kind of do have the right to take pictures of you guys." Summer said quietly. Marissa looked at her, upset. "Look, Ryan's a public figure, and you guys are together out in public, there's nothing in the book that says they can't do that."

"I know, it's just hard to have your picture in the magazines….and you should have seen the local paper, it was ten times worse than anything the magazines said." Marissa said, shuddering at the thought of that one paper a week and a half ago, and how close her and Ryan had come to breaking up.

"I'm sorry Coop…." Summer said, sympathy in her eyes. "Anyways, I saw you in the magazines, and I just had to find you. Truth is, I've been thinking about it for a long time, and the magazine just seemed to be a sign you know? So I come to Newport, go to your parent's house, talk to your mom, and then come here looking for you, and here we are now…"

"I was actually going to go pick up Ryan.." Marissa said, not wanting to leave Summer, but dying to see Ryan at the same time.

"Can I come, I've been wanting to meet him, got to make sure he's fit to be with you." Summer said, joking. "We all know I'm very strict when it comes to these types of things."

Marissa laughed. "Yeah, I know Sum, I remember. Come on, let's go." And the two of them walked to their cars, and Summer followed Marissa to the gym where Ryan was practicing.

Marissa felt butterflies in her stomach just thinking about Ryan, and seeing him, spending the day with him, kissing him. She smiled to herself, wondering how her life got so perfect in just a matter of days. She'd introduce Ryan to Summer, and they'd probably go to lunch or something and get to know each other. Then, whenever they were alone, her and Ryan would look into each other's eyes and just enjoy their company. They'd probably make out….again…and she'd head back to her parent's house late at night again.

Then they'd spend tomorrow doing the same thing all over again. She felt herself getting excited to see him, wanting to be in his arms again. She arrived at the gym, and walked inside with Summer, doing her best not to appear overly excited, but knowing she was failing miserably. When they were inside, she spotted him talking to Seth and another player. She turned to Summer and said, "Wait here, I'll go get him."

Without giving Summer anytime to answer, she quickly walked over to Ryan. He must have seen her out of the corner of his eyes, because she saw him turn her way and give her his classic half smile that made her weak to the knees. He turned to his friends again and held up a finger and turned to her and walked towards her, taking her in his arms. He leaned in and kissed her long and slow on the lips. When he pulled back, they were both breathless. He rested his forehead against hers and whispered, "I've missed you."

"It's been twelve hours." She pointed out, putting her hands behind his neck and connecting them.

"Twelve loooong hours." He said, making her giggle. He kissed the tip of her nose, and then turned to look over to where Summer was standing at the entrance of the dorm. "I see you brought a friend."

Marissa nodded and turned around to see Summer looking at them, a smile on her face. "Yeah, that's Summer, I think I've told you about her…"

"Best friends, rage blackouts, left a couple of years ago…"

"Yeah, that's her." She said, turning his way again. "Anyways, she wants to meet you…"

"That's cool, I want to know more about your past, any embarrassing secrets." he said, teasing her.

"Hmm, yeah, too bad for you, I don't have any." She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where Summer was. "Besides, even if I did, Summer wouldn't tell you."

He shook his head and replied, "I don't know about that, I am known to be quite persuasive."

"Oh really, when?" She asked, giggling. She loved this, their teasing each other.

"Plenty of times." He said, smiling down at her. His eyes sparkled every time she spoke, and it made her feel special.

"You keep telling yourself that." She told him as they reached Summer. She turned her attention to Summer and said, "Sum, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Ryan Atwood. And Ryan, I'd like you to meet my best friend that I haven't seen in forever, Summer Roberts."

"Nice to finally meet you Atwood." Summer said, staring at Ryan intently.

"Nice to finally meet you too…Roberts." He said, making fun of her for calling him by his last name. "I've heard so much about you." He said, giving Marissa a small grin. "So, very much."

"Good things I hope." Summer said, starting to smile and ease off of him.

"Yeah, mostly good."

"Really, and what about the bad?" Summer asked, giving Marissa a look.

"Not bad for you, bad for me. I now know not to get on your bad side." He said, chuckling softly.

"That's correct." Summer said seriously. "And that means no hurting my best friend."

Ryan's smile faded, and he turned to Marissa. He put his arm around her waist, and kissed the top of her head. "I promise you that that will never happen." He said, not bothering to look back at Summer. "I would never hurt Marissa, ever."

Summer smiled at the two of them and said, "Then there's nothing for you to be worried about Atwood, nothing at all." She looked behind them and over to the other basketball players. "Now if you'll excuse me…I think I'll get to know the team." And she walked away from them, leaving Ryan and Marissa to laugh amongst themselves.

He turned to her, smiling widely. "Summer's very…interesting." He said.

"Very interesting." She said laughing softly, "Very, very interesting." She put her hands around his neck and linked them together once again. "Did you mean what you said?" She asked softly.

He seemed confused. "About what?"

"Hurting me, do you mean what you said when you said you'd never hurt me?"

Understanding filled his eyes and he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, letting it linger. "Of course I do, I'd never hurt you. I love you too much for that."

She smiled and pulled him closer to her. "I love you too." She pulled away from their embrace and took his hand, leading him to her car outside. "Let's get out of here, go to the beach, the diner, anywhere…"

"Sounds like a plan." He said, smiling. "But I get to drive."

She rolled her eyes. "Here." She said, handing him her keys. "Just don't kill us."

He pretended to be hurt. "I would never do anything crazy." He opened her door for her, and then walked around to his own. "What makes you think such a thing?" He asked her, joking around.

"I'm just making sure." She said, smiling as he reached for her hand and held it as they drove off.

"You never have to worry about my driving." He said, looking at the road ahead. She just nodded along, having complete trust in him. Why should she be worried? Nothing would ever happen to either of them, right?


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N Okay, so….not much I can tell without giving stuff away, but enjoy this chapter…and remember it…you'll need to. Just a heads up, the next time I can post on any of my stories is in like three weeks, so hang in there. R/R, enjoy!**

He leans in and kisses her, letting it linger longer than necessary. She ran her hands through his hair, and he moaned and started kissing down her neck. "Ryan…" She said breathless. "I…need…..to….go…"

He kissed back up her neck, and connected their lips again. After a long, passionate kiss, she pulled back and got off the bed. He groaned and said, "Do you really have to leave?" He went to where she was, and pulled her into his arms. "You could stay…spend the night."

"Yeah, because my dad would love that." She sighed and turned towards him. "I promised my dad that I wouldn't wear you out…and even though we technically haven't done anything, I know that we will if I stay, and I'm not ready." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his lips. "Can you understand that?"

He sighed and said, "Yeah, of course, I'm just saying, with my away game in a couple of days…"

"Wait…you have an away game?" She asked, pouting. "I thought we had plans this weekend…"

"Yes, I have an away game.." He said, resting his forehead against hers. "And what plans did we have…because I don't remember any."

"Well, we didn't technically have any…but we always spend the weekends together." She said softly.

"Well, maybe you should come with us. You could stay in my hotel room…I'm sure there will be more than one bed, and you or I could sleep in the extra one." He kissed her softly and then said, "Nothing has to happen."

She thought about it for a couple of minutes, and then finally said, "Okay."

He grinned from ear to ear. "Really?" He leaned in and kissed her, longer and slower than before. He moved his hands to her waist, and she started running her hands through her hair. "As for now.." He mumbled against her lips.

"I think I can stay for five minutes." She mumbled back. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, and massaged hers with his own. She moaned softly and he pulled her with him onto his bed. He started making a trail of kisses down her neck to her collar bone. "Maybe, I could stay for half an hour." She said, not wanting him to stop.

"Sounds good to me." He said, reconnecting their lips.

"Pass the ball Atwood!!" Summer yelled. Marissa rolled her eyes and watched her boyfriend pass the ball to one of his teammates. She smiled at the sight of his muscled body running down the court, playing an intense game. She was in Miami, watching him play against their team. "Not to Cohen!" Summer yelled, defeated. She turned to Marissa and said, "Gosh, your boyfriend can be so stupid sometimes."

"Excuse me?" Marissa said, "But at least I have a boyfriend."

Summer looked at Marissa and sighed, "Coop, you're not supposed to say that, you just ruined the game."

"I thought my stupid boyfriend did?" Marissa teased. This was typical Summer, always blaming someone else, and making it look like she was mad.

"Yeah, well, you're one awesome team then." Summer turned back to the game and yelled, "Cohen, get your skinny ass off the court!!" Marissa rolled her eyes once again, this was going to be a long game.

"You played good today." Marissa said, wrapping her arms around Ryan. "But you always do." She smiled up at him.

"Thank you. And tell Summer, she's quite the cheerleader." He chuckled, "But she's pretty accurate most of the time."

Marissa giggled, "You could actually hear her? We weren't that close, and there were tons of other people. Are you sure you're not hearing things."

He raised his eyebrow and imitated Summer, "Pass the ball Atwood, get your skinny ass off the court Cohen! No, not from there! Don't make me come down there and teach you how to play!" He smiled at Marissa, "Now am I hearing things?"

"Hmm, pretty accurate." She said. "I was thinking, we should watch a movie in the room tonight, just order room service for dinner…"

"Sounds perfect." he said, leaning in to kiss her. He was interrupted though by Jimmy coming in behind them. "Hey Mr. Cooper." Ryan said, putting a fake smile on his face. He wasn't mad at Jimmy anymore, but still didn't want to be interrupted when he was about to kiss Marissa.

"Hey Ryan. And how many times do I have to tell you, it's Jimmy." He looked over to Marissa and smiled. "So, tonight we're having dinner together, the whole team…will I be seeing you two there."

Ryan looked over to Marissa and sighed. "Yeah, we'll be there." Jimmy nodded and left and he turned to Marissa. "Maybe some other time?"

She smiled and said, "I'll hold you to that Mr. Atwood."

"Fine with me." He said, taking her by the hand and walking away. "I was thinking….what do you want to do now?"

"As long as I'm with you, I don't care." She said with a shy smile.

"Good, because I was thinking we could check out the city…."

She smiled and led him to his rental car. "Sounds good to me."

Marissa sighed as she looked around. Her and Ryan were at some dinner with the team, and he hadn't had a free moment all night. Whether he was with the team, or signing autographs, she'd barely said two words to him since he walked in the door. She was getting tired of waiting for him, so she got up and walked towards him. He was with two girls, both of them wearing his jersey but wearing pink versions of it. She walked up to him and asked, "Can I see you for a second?"

He looked up, surprised to see her. "Yeah, just wait a second." And he turned back to the girls. He started talking to them again, and she felt anger rise in her.

"No, now." She said quickly. She flashed the girls a fake smile and glared at Ryan. He must have sensed her urgency because he quickly got up and followed her to a more private area.

He gave her his famous half smile, but she wasn't in the mood for his charm. "I'm sorry, I've been busy tonight, I know. I didn't even want to come, you were there…"

"Well for someone who isn't happy about being here, you're having a lot of fun huh?" She asked, anger dripping from her words.

"I'm not in the mood for this." He said, giving a frustrated sigh.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just go then." She said, walking away from him.

"Marissa….don't be difficult."

She spun around. "Me being difficult? All I wanted to do was spend more than five minutes with you in two hours. But I guess you're just too busy."

She walked off, ignoring his calls for her. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now, so she just walked off to their hotel room.

Ryan couldn't concentrate on what anyone was saying. All he could see was Marissa's hurt face and hear her angry voice. He wanted to be with her, but he knew it would be rude to leave. He kept debating in his head whether he should leave or stay until he couldn't take it any longer. "I'm really sorry, but will you excuse me?" He asked the blonde that he was talking to.

"Yeah, I guess." She shrugged. He walked off quickly, and left. He really didn't want to argue with Marissa, but he knew he needed to see her. So he quickly drove to the hotel room, and when he walked in, he saw that the light was on.

She looked up at him and didn't say anything, but he could see the anger was gone from her face. "Marissa….I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spent so much time with everyone else…"

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so pushy…I just wanted to spend time with you." She gave him a small smile, "I guess I don't like sharing you with anyone."

"So are we okay?" He asked, taking a step towards her. She nodded, and he sighed in relief. "Good, because I can't stand to be arguing with each other."

"Me either." She set aside the book she'd been reading, and patted the spot on the bed next to her. He obeyed and sat down next to her. He leaned in and kissed her softly. She put her hands on the side of his face, and pulled him closer to her. He put his arms on either side of her and got on top of her.

He pulled back and just looked at her, running one of his hands over her cheek. She smiled shyly at him, and he took in the sight of her. As far as he knew, she was dressed for bed. She wore one of his dress shirts, a button up blue one with long sleeves. She looked irresistible to him, so he started kissing her again, more heated and passionate this time though.

He let his tongue mingle with hers, and he started letting his hand make its way up her shirt. That's when he realized she was completely naked under it. He pulled back and looked into her eyes, which were clouded with desire. She started unbuttoning his shirt, and pulled it off of him. She ran her hands over his chest, taking off his wife beater too. She started to kiss his chest, and let her hands travel down to his abdomen and then to his pants. She started messing with the button of it, but he stopped her. "Are you ready for this?" He asked, his voice deep and husky.

"Yes." She said, looking straight into his eyes. "I want you." She ran her hand over his stomach again and said, "All of you." She started messing with the button on his now tight pants again, and he gulped. When she'd unbuttoned them, she pulled them off and threw them on the floor. She started messing with the hem of his boxers too, and he leaned in and kissed her long and slow. "Do you have a well, you know?" She asked shyly.

He nodded and reached for one in his wallet. She started kissing him again, and he let his hands travel under her shirt, causing her to moan. He took off her shirt, and threw it on the floor with the rest of his clothes. He started kissing down her neck, and then to her chest, letting his hands roam her body. She went and removed his boxers, and her hands started feeling him too.

He put on the condom and entered her, causing her to moan out loudly in pleasure. As their bodies rocked together in unison, all thoughts of fighting and other girls left their minds. Because now was their time, and they took full advantage of it, making love deep into the night.

And they were happy, at least for now.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N So I know this is really short, but it's better than nothing right? Anyways, R/R, and enjoy!**

He heard the alarm on his cell phone go off, and he groaned. He quickly turned it off and looked at the clock, seeing that he had forty five minutes to get ready. He sighed, and looked at Marissa, who was slowly waking up. He smiled when he saw how messed up her hair was, and how adorable she looked. "Hey." She murmured with a smile. She looked at him with sleepy eyes. "Where are you going?" She asked, grabbing one of his hands.

"Your dad wants the team to meet at the gym and go over some things before we leave." He said. He smiled down at her and leaned in to kiss her. He savored the feeling of her lips against his, and started running his hand through her hair. He felt her move her hands and put them on his bare back. He pulled back, breathless, knowing that he needed to leave soon, not sure how much traffic there would be. "But I'll be back soon." He kissed her once more on the tip of her nose and added, "I promise."

She playfully pouted and said, "But I was thinking we should have breakfast in bed, and then stay in bed." She ran her hands over his chest, and started kissing his neck. He moaned softly, and let her kiss him and run her hands all over his body. He felt himself slowly giving in, but he rolled on top of her and stopped her from kissing him.

"I have to go." He said, leaning down and capturing her mouth with his own. He slowly and tenderly kissed her, letting their tongues dance for a while. When he pulled back, he lent his forehead against hers and said, "You should get some more sleep." He kissed her forehead and slowly got up, "I want you fully rested for later."

As he pulled on his boxers, he felt her come up behind him, and wrap her arms around his body, letting them rest on his chest. She put her face next to his ear and asked, "And what exactly do you have in mind?" She kissed down his neck, making it difficult for him to focus on getting dressed. She slowly moved her hands down his body, to his boxers that he'd just put on. He caught her hands before they could go any further and held them in his own.

"Something along the lines of this." He said, turning quickly and leaning her onto the bed. He covered her body with his own, and started kissing her again. He kissed down her neck and left a trail of kisses along her collar bone. He pulled back and got up, causing her to groan in frustration. "I'll be back in a couple of hours." He said, putting on the rest of his clothes. He went over to her, and pecked her on the lips softly and said, "Bye."

"Bye." She replied unhappily. She picked at the sheets on the bed, and stared down at the ground.

He sighed and sat down on the bed next to her. "What's wrong?" He asked, placing his hand on her thigh and rubbing it comfortingly. He didn't want her upset, not now, not after the amazing night they'd had. He kissed her cheek and waited for her response.

"Is this going to happen all the time?" She asked, sighing. "Leaving early in the morning, parties at night, games during the day?" She stared at him sadly. "I know it sounds stupid for me to be upset over nothing, but I just want to know if this is how we're going to be you know. Just a quick goodbye in the morning after a long night."

"I guess, I don't know. I hope not." She looked down, and he placed a finger under her chin and lifted it to look at him. Their eyes met, and he saw a look of fear in hers, and he couldn't understand why. He gave her a small smile, and said, "I love you, and we're going to be fine." He kissed her softly and then got up. "See you in a couple of hours."

"Love you too." He heard her mumble quietly as he left.


	20. Chapter 20

"Okay, you guys are playing pretty good, but you could be better." Jimmy said without enthusiasm. "I brought you here today because I wanted to talk to you guys about team work. Team work is what wins us a basketball game, not what you guys have been doing. You guys are all on a team, you're like a family…so act like one. You have to be there for each other when bad things happen. So when you're on the court, share the ball. Don't everyone just pass to Ryan."

Ryan tried to pay attention to Jimmy, but he just kept thinking of Marissa, and the night that they'd had. He tried not to smile, but couldn't help it. He was ready to leave this meeting and just go back to her and enjoy the little time they had together before he had another game and event to go to. They were going back to Newport tonight, and then he had another away game in a couple of days.

"Okay, that's basically it." Jimmy said.

Ryan tried not to seem too excited but he knew he was failing miserably. He went up to Jimmy and asked, "Hey, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Um, would it be okay if I skipped that even tonight?" He asked nervously.

Jimmy sighed and said, "Why…you know you're the star player, people expect for you to be there."

"I know, it's just…Marissa and I…."

"Are these events hard for you two?" Jimmy asked with concern.

"Yeah, she just thinks that we don't spend enough time together." He stated truthfully. "And I'm beginning to think the same thing."

Jimmy sighed once again, "Fine, but just tonight…I don't want to make a habit of this."

He smiled widely and said, "Thanks Jimmy, you have no idea how much this means to me."

He started walking away when he heard Jimmy say, "And Ryan….if you hurt my daughter, you just don't want to go there."

Marissa meanwhile was hanging out with Summer. Summer had immediately guessed that her and Ryan had slept together. "You know, it's obvious, you're glowing, and totally happy."

Marissa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, so what?"

"Coop, that's how you act after sex."

"But the thing is, it was more than sex you know." She admitted. "It's just, with Luke, it was sex, nothing more. But with Ryan, it was different."

Summer smiled at her friend and said, "Yeah, I know how that feels." She looked off into space dreamily and Marissa smirked. "What?"

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No, I'm just saying, I've been in a relationship like that before."

"With who….I bet it's Seth Cohen." Marissa joked. When Summer didn't say anything, she stopped in her tracks and said, "Oh my god, it is Seth?"

"Yeah…sort of." Summer said nervously, fidgeting with her hands.

"Wow, I never would've expected that." Marissa admitted. "But hey, you take what you can get huh?"

"Shut up." Summer said with a smile as they kept walking.

He walked into their hotel room and found her watching TV. He smiled and walked over to her, laying down next to her on the bed. "Hey, how's your day been so far?" He asked, taking her into his arms.

"It's a whole lot better now." She said, leaning into him. "Did you know Seth and Summer have been going out?"

He chuckled and said, "They don't seem like the perfect couple."

"But they're together, Summer told me herself."

He leaned in and kissed her neck. "Right now, I really don't want to talk about Summer." He said, starting to suck her neck softly. She moaned and he moved his hands to her shirt and put them under it.

"I agree." She said, turning around and started kissing him. She put her hands under his shirt and rubbed his chest. She slipped her tongue into his moth and explored every inch of it. He did the same with her, and flipped her over so he was on top. He started grinding against her body and she moaned loudly. "When….do…..we…..have…..to….leave?" She asked in between kisses.

"Later." He mumbled against her lips. "Much later." He moved his hands under her shirt and pulled it off her head and threw it onto the floor. He moved to unclasp her bra, and threw that elsewhere also. She took off his shirt and wife beater and moved her hands over her chest and down his stomach, making him more excited than before. She unbuttoned his pants and threw them on the ground, leaving him in only his boxers. He moved his mouth and kissed down her neck and to her collar bone. She moaned loudly again, and ran her hands over his back and through his hair. He took off her pants and panties and she pulled off his boxers and felt his hardness. He moaned and moved his lips down to her chest and kissed her all over. He entered her after putting a condom on, and rocked inside of her. He covered her mouth with his own, blocking out the screams of pleasure. When they climaxed, he collapsed on top of her. He pulled her closer to him, and held her while they regained their breathing.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you…..we're staying home tonight."

"But I thought you had that event you needed to go to." She said, rubbing her finger over his hand.

"It's already taken care of." He said, causing her to kiss him again.


	21. Chapter 21

They walked onto the private plane that Jimmy had rented for the team, and sat down on the couch together. It was a nicely furnished place, with couches and chairs everywhere, and even it's own little dining area. He put his arm around her, and she leaned her head down onto his chest. He kissed the top of her head, and she smiled softly. "I'm tired." She said after a while.

"Me too." he replied with a yawn. He lazily leaned back farther and pulled her closer to him.

She climbed on top of him and cuddled with him. "Let's go to sleep then." She replied, starting to close her eyes.

"Okay." he said, wrapping both his arms around her. "Good night." He said, though she had already fallen asleep. He smiled and fell asleep too.

A while later, when the rest of the team had finished eating their lunch, Seth and Summer walked over to where the two were sleeping. Summer smiled at her best friend and boyfriend and turned to Seth. "They're so cute Cohen."

"I don't know if cute's the word." he said, looking at them awkwardly. It was obvious that he didn't feel comfortable watching them.

"Come on Cohen, you know they are." She said, motioning to them. Marissa was cuddled up with Ryan, and wore a small smile on her face. Her hair was slightly messed up, probably from moving. They were no longer sitting, but rather laying together on the couch. Ryan's arms were wrapped around Marissa, and his face was buried in her hair. They both wore small smiles, and you could tell they were completely peaceful and content with each other. "I mean, look at them."

Seth took one last look at them and shrugged. He turned and saw Summer pulling out a camera. "What are you doing?"

"This is a moment to be remembered." She said, taking the picture. She took another one, and then put the camera back in her bag. Marissa slowly stirred awake, which caused Ryan to gradually wake up too. The two stared back at Seth and Summer sleepily.

"What do you want?" Ryan asked tiredly.

"Summer just thought that you guys were so cute, so she took a picture of you." Seth commented.

Summer waved them off and said, "I did nothing of the just imagining things."

"No I'm not." Summer nodded and walked off to the other part of the plane. Seth followed her.

"These pictures will come in handy someday Cohen." She whispered. "Mark my words."

"Whatever you say…" Seth said with a roll of his eyes. "Whatever you say…"

Meanwhile Ryan and Marissa were still on the couch, trying to wake up completely. "We could go back to sleep." Ryan pointed out, sitting up on the couch.

She got off of him and stood up from the couch. "And risk those two looking at us again, I don't think so. Besides, I'm already awake, I don't want to sleep again."

"True." He said, getting up as well. He stretched and yawned one last time. Then he took her hand in his and together they walked to the dining area to get some lunch.

"So what exactly are we going to do if we don't go to the party tonight?" She asked, taking a bite of her food. "We like…never do anything together."

"Never say never." He said. "And what I have planned is for us to get some food at the diner, and maybe take a walk on the beach. If you want to…we can go rent some movies, and watch them together."

"I like that idea." She said with a smile. "It's better than dressing up and going to some party where girls are all over you, and we hardly speak for two hours."

"I thought you were over that." He said with a frown. "Remember last night?"

"I am." She said weakly, looking down at her food. For some reason though, he just didn't believe her.

Before he could say anything though, Seth and Summer came and sat down next to them. "So I hear you're not coming to the event tonight." Seth said with a sly smile. "So what exactly are you two going to be doing?"

"Shut it Seth." he said with an annoyed sigh. "I'm not in the mood."

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the couch." Seth mumbled.

"That's only because someone woke me up." He said, getting up from where he was sitting. He turned to Marissa and said, "I need to be alone right now."

She watched him walk away and sighed, biting her lip. Summer watched the exchange and sat down where Ryan had been. "What's going on with you two Coop? It thought things were going good."

"They are…it's just…" She stopped to process her thoughts. "It's just…I don't really know." She laughed bitterly and said, "That's kind of sad isn't it?"

Summer nodded and said, "Talk to him. You have this whole night together to spend however you like. Maybe you guys can stay off each other long enough to actually talk."

"Summer!"

"It's just a suggestion." Summer said with a sigh. She got up and grabbed Seth's hand. "I think we're landing soon, we should go sit down."

They walked away, and Marissa went over to Ryan who was already sitting down. "Hey." She said softly, grabbing his hand. "What happened back there…because I don't even know."

"Nothing, I'm just tired." He said, offering her a small smile. He gave her a quick kiss and then leaned back in his chair.

She nodded even though she didn't believe him. She couldn't explain why she'd gotten upset earlier about him being at a party, just that she didn't have a good feeling about it. A gut feeling told her that something was bound to happen eventually at one of those things, and she was scared to death to find out what.

He walked with Marissa to the diner, and he watched as she looked down at the ground and avoided his gaze. They arrived and made their way to their usual booth. "So do you know what you want?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, same thing I always get." She said with no emotion. She seemed lost in thought, and he sighed.

"Looks like we're almost the only ones here." He said, observing his surroundings. "I guess everyone is going to the party, wonder if they're having any fun."

"Can we not talk about he party?" She asked with a sigh. "We didn't go so we could spend time together remember?" She looked up at him and he could see she wasn't happy.

"I'm sorry." He started, but was interrupted by the waitress.

"What can I get you guys?" She asked with a big smile. She turned to Ryan and seemed to finally recognize him. "Hey, I thought you'd be at that party." She said with a huge smile. "Do you mind if I have your autograph?"

He gave her a fake smile and said, "Sure." She handed him her notepad, and he signed it for her.

"I was bummed when I found out that I had to work tonight. I figured you'd be at that party, and I wouldn't be able to see you." She flashed him a flirty smile and touched his arm. "Looks like I got lucky after all." He gave her a charming smile, and she ran her hand along his arm now. "Very lucky." She added.

Marissa made a sound in her throat, obviously trying to get their attention. "I'd like the cheeseburger with chili fries and a coke." She put her hand on Ryan's and gave the waitress a phony smile. "He'll have the same."

She turned to him after a while and he saw that she wasn't happy with him. "That wasn't my fault."

"No, but you didn't do anything to stop her either." She said angrily, but keeping her voice down.

"Stop what, I gave her an autograph for goodness sakes Marissa, what do you expect? I'm kind of famous and popular around here in case you hadn't noticed."

"Of course I notice, I can't forget it!" She hissed at him.

The waitress came back and gave them a sly smile. "Here's your drinks." She handed Ryan his and practically banged Marissa's down on the table.

When she walked away, Marissa turned back to Ryan. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" He asked with a sigh.

"She handed you your drink and practically spilled mine on me."

"Probably on accident." He said, defending the waitress.

"Who's side are you on?" She asked angrily. "You're on hers aren't you?"

"There are no sides!" He said with an annoyed tone. "She gave you a drink, that's it. The rest is probably in your head."

She glared at him, and didn't say anything for a long time. Even after their food came, she didn't say anything to him. They ate in silence, and he'd look up at her every once in a while and saw that she seemed lost in her own little world. When they finally finished eating, the waitress came back with the check. Marissa mumbled under her breath, "Here comes your other girlfriend."

He glared at her, and turned and gave the waitress a fake smile. She said, "If there's anything you guys need, don't be afraid to ask."

"Thanks, we'll keep that in mind." Marissa said with a frown. The waitress rolled her eyes and walked away. Marissa turned to Ryan and said, "Let's get out of here before she comes back."

"Good idea." He said quietly, not wanting to upset her anymore.

They walked out together, but she stayed away from him. They went for their walk on the beach, and he tried to hold her hand, but instead she hugged herself and he put his hands in his jean pockets. The cool night breeze rippled over the ocean, giving the blackish bluish water a pretty effect. The moonlight bounced off the surface and he smiled at the sight. It was truly beautiful. "I'm sorry about earlier." He said after a while.

"Whatever." She said, rubbing her hands over her arms. "It was only a waitress right?"

"How come when you say that I get the feeling that I'm doing something wrong?" He asked with a sigh.

"Maybe you are." She said, avoiding his gaze.

"Really, what?" He challenged. "Give me one thing that I'm doing wrong."

"You're flirting with a waitress right in front of me." She said bitterly.

"I was not flirting with her." He said with a roll of his eyes.

"She was flirting with you."

"And there's nothing I can do about that." he pointed out. "She can do whatever she wants to."

"It's not like you didn't like it." She said quietly.

He sighed and stopped walking. He put his finger under her chin, and lifted it gently to look at him. "I didn't." He said softly. She was going to say something, but he put a finger to her lips. "I can't stand to see you this way, to see us this way."

He removed his finger and she said, "I can't just watch her flirt with you and not say anything."

"I'm not asking you to." He said, taking a step closer to her. He stared at her intently and then said, "All I'm asking is for you to trust me. I'd never do anything to hurt you."

She nodded and sighed. "Okay, I trust you." She leaned in and kissed him softly, and he smiled when she pulled back.

_Let's dance in style, lets dance for a while  
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies  
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst  
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?_

"Good." He said. He heard a song start to play on the speakers at the pier from some music store and he said, "Dance with me."

_Let us die young or let us live forever  
We don't have the power but we never say never  
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip  
The music's for the sad men_

She giggled and said, "What? Ryan Atwood dancing?"

_  
Can you imagine when this race is won  
Turn our golden faces into the sun  
Praising our leaders we're getting in tune  
The music's played by the mad men_

He held out his hand and she took it. He nodded and said, "Dance with me."

_Forever young, I want to be forever young  
do you really want to live forever, forever and ever  
Forever young, I want to be forever young  
do you really want to live forever? Forever young_

"Okay." She said softly, wrapping her arms around his neck. He put his hands on her waist, and she leaned her head against his chest as they swayed to the music.

_Some are like water, some are like the heat  
Some are a melody and some are the beat  
Sooner or later they all will be gone  
why don't they stay young_

After a while he said, "Promise me that no matter what's happening, no matter what's going on with us, that when this song comes on we'll drop whatever we're doing and dance to it."

_It's so hard to get old without a cause  
I don't want to perish like a fleeing horse  
Youth's like diamonds in the sun  
and diamonds are forever_

She was quiet for a moment, and then she nodded and said, "Okay, I promise." She pulled her head back enough to look at him and she leaned in to kiss him.

_So many adventures couldn't happen today  
So many songs we forgot to play  
So many dreams swinging out of the blue  
We let them come true_

He didn't deepen the kiss, didn't make it over heated or anything. He let this kiss be a simple kiss to mark this simple yet important moment in their lives. When they finally pulled back, he stared into her eyes that reflected the moon's light. "Remember your promise…." He advised her.

_Forever young, I want to be forever young  
do you really want to live forever, forever and ever  
Forever young, I want to be forever young  
do you really want to live forever, forever and ever  
_

"I'll never forget it." She said softly. She leaned her head back on his chest, and they continued dancing to the song. The waves crashing against the shore could be heard, and a couple of birds were making some sounds, almost like they were talking to each other. He didn't pay attention to it though, he just knew that he'd remember this moment for a long, long time.

_Forever young, I want to be forever young  
do you really want to live forever?_


	22. Chapter 22

He looked around for someone that was open. Sweat dripped down his whole body, making his body glisten in the stadium's lights. He looked right, looked left, and finally passed it to Seth. He ran away from his defender so he was open and Seth passed him the ball again. He quickly took the shot, and heard the swish of the ball go straight through the net. He smiled to himself and heard the crowd cheer for him. He looked around as he ran to the other side of the court. Everyone was here for his team, to watch him and his teammates play a game of basketball. There were thousands of people, all yelling his name.

It was a wonderful feeling.

The other team passed the ball across the court, and the man with the ball looked for someone that was open. He could hear the crowd yell at the top of their lungs… "Defense, Defense!..." He felt the adrenaline surge through him and stole the ball as the guy tried to pass it. He looked to the other side of the court and saw that Jeremy Thomas was already at the basket. He threw the ball all the way to him and Jeremy did a slam dunk. The crowd went wild. He looked over to Jimmy who was smiling despite his best efforts at keeping a game face. Then he looked to the second row and saw her. She was clapping and on her feet, shouting her encouragement to the team, to him. She looked at him and they locked eyes.

He winked at her, and got back into the game. He continued playing his hardest, feeling like he needed to show off in front of her. He knew it was juvenile, but he felt like he needed to show her that he was worthy of her love, of her presence even. So he showed off in basketball, the only thing he was really good at and could control.

So he played his hardest the rest of the game, refusing to let himself give in and get tired. When he was benched towards the end of the game after being in most of the fourth quarter, he was upset. "But the games almost over…" He pleaded to Jimmy, quickly glancing over to Marissa who was too absorbed in the game to notice he was out of it.

"Yeah, and you're obviously tired. You've done well this game, and I need you to not ware out yourself." Jimmy said, turning his attention back to the game. Ryan finally sat down and watched the remainder of the game. They ended up winning by just one point against the Pistons in the last couple of seconds.

After the game, they started heading to the locker room when he was stopped by a reporter. "Mr. Atwood, is it okay if we ask a few questions?" The reporter asked. She was short, and had shoulder length black hair that shined in the lights. She had black eyes, and was wearing an 'I love the Piranhas' T-shirt.

"Sure." He said, offering his most charming smile. He looked at the camera man who was directing the camera at him. He smiled into it and then turned back to the reporter.

"How do you think you did tonight?"

"Well, I think I did my best, same as the rest of the team. That's why we won."

"Are you afraid that next time you won't win? You guys barely made it today…"

"I think that the Pistons are a good team. We gave it our best, and maybe we need to work on things here and there, but we're doing good." He said, trying to not sound upset. "Seth passed the ball without losing it, Jeremy made some good shots, and the rest of the team did outstanding also if you ask me."

"Now…can we expect you with the Piranhas tomorrow at the Newport event?"

"Most likely," he said, and then looked in the direction of the locker room. "I actually have to go, I'm probably missing the victory talk in the locker room." He said, trying to excuse himself. He quickly left to go to the rest of his team.

She waited for him outside of the locker room impatiently. She was hungry and really wanted to get to dinner before they got stopped and invited to dinner with another player. She sighed and tapped her foot. She could hear the sounds of lockers closing and people talking through the hallway walls. She looked down at her shoes and then looked at her watch. Any minute now….

Ever since their dance two weeks ago, things had been going good between them. He had tried to be less flirtatious around people, and she'd been trying to get used to the amount of attention he was getting. Still, night time was their time, and their time was getting interrupted.

She heard the door open and turned to see Ryan waving goodbye to everyone else in the locker room. He closed the door and turned to her, giving her an apologetic smile. He walked closer to her, and she could feel what he was doing to her body…making her knees go weak, making it hard to breathe, and making it hard to be upset with him. "I'm sorry I took so long….the guys were going on and on about our win…and I had to get caught up with them because I had to do an interview…" He put his hands on her waist and brought her closer to him. "But now I'm all yours." He said, leaning in and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Mmm…" Was all she could say. She leaned in and kissed him, letting it linger longer than she planned on. It was a sweet kiss, a tender kiss, an apologetic kiss. She pulled back and took a step away from him. "Come on, let's go get dinner….I'm starving."

He smiled and said, "Works for me."

Together they walked out of the building and to her car. They made a point to drive together to every game since they were together every night anyways. "So where do you want to go?" He asked her after a while.

"Well, where do we always go?" She asked.

"The diner," He replied. "You know, that's like the only restaurant that I know of, and I've lived her for about four months now."

She giggled and said, "Well, maybe we should search for another one. We could go to the crab shack if you wanted?"

"We'll stick with the diner tonight, but starting tomorrow….I vow to not eat at the diner for a whole week." He said proudly with a firm shake of his head.

She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back out the window. Ryan was driving, and she was looking at the Newport scenery. "You know, we don't go to the beach that much." She said sadly. She sighed and then said, "If you really think about it, we don't do any normal couple stuff that much."

"We're going to dinner aren't we?" He asked after a while, his mood suddenly serious.

"Yeah, but even that is sometimes ruined." She said softly.

"I don't mean for it to though…"

"I know. But really, besides dinner when do we ever do stuff together…as a couple. Like when do we go to the beach, or go see a movie…or just have a regular date?"

He sighed as they arrived at the diner and turned to her. "I know, but it'll all change." She just nodded as they walked inside. And all throughout dinner, she only had one thought.

She knew it wasn't going to change.

He felt like he was losing her. Whenever he'd talk to her, she just seemed to be off into space, in another world, or something. When he tried to kiss her, he felt like she wasn't into it. When he tried to hold her hand, she wasn't holding his back. He felt like she felt he was forcing her to do stuff, and he didn't want that.

Today was the big charity event that they were going to…again. He was putting on his clothes, when he heard her come in. He'd left a key under the mat in front of his apartment, and she happened to know where it is. She could come in at any time she wanted actually, it wasn't like he minded. "Hey." He heard her call behind him. He turned around to be met with the beauty of his girlfriend.

"Hey." He said with a small smile. He suddenly frowned and said, "Is there something I did wrong earlier…or last night? I feel like you haven't been yourself…"

"I haven't." She admitted. "It's just this party…"

"We've been over this a thousand times already." He said softly. "The party will go by quick…we'll get used to going to them."

She didn't seem to be paying attention to him though, and she said, "Remember during the summer before basketball season….we would hang out and go to the beach…"

"Yeah…"

"I guess I miss being a normal couple." She said with a sad smile and a shrug of her shoulders. "It's not that I don't trust you…or I have a problem with the girls that seem to follow you at these events. I just miss being normal."

"Who would've thought that a guy like me…Ryan Atwood…would become a basketball player?" He asked with a smile. "Much less become a famous one. You don't see very many athletes in the tabloids."

"Is that always a bad thing though?"

"I'm not saying it's a good thing….I'm just saying…this was never my intention when we started dating." He admitted.

She nodded her head and offered him a weak smile. "We should get going, you don't want to keep the team waiting."

He wondered why when she said the word 'team' that it sounded like a threat.

About two hours later, the event was almost over. He couldn't wait either…because he had something planned for Marissa afterwards. He looked around and saw that only a few people besides the team were still there. He looked over and saw Jeremy with some girl. They were laughing, and she hit his chest playfully.

He walked over to Jeremy and said, "I'm gonna go…"

"So soon?" Jeremy asked.

"Dude, it's been two hours. I think I'm entitled to leave." He looked in the direction of Seth and Summer and saw Marissa laughing at something Seth had said. "Besides, there's somewhere else I'd like to go."

"I get you man." Jeremy said. The woman beside him made a noise in her throat, and he suddenly remembered he hadn't introduced her. "Ryan, this is my girlfriend Taylor Townsend. Taylor, I believe you know this is Ryan."

Taylor looked at him and gave him a sweet smile. He nodded his head and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Taylor."

She put her hand on his chest playfully and said, "Believe me, the pleasure is all mine."

He turned and saw Marissa walking towards him, and he turned his attention to her. He gave her a small smile and said, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, if you are." She replied tiredly.

"So…." Taylor said, interrupting the two.

"Right." He said with a sigh. "Marissa, this is Jeremy's girlfriend Taylor. Taylor, this is my girlfriend Marissa."

"It's very nice to meet you." Taylor said with a smile. He didn't know if it was just him, but she seemed to be very uncomfortable now.

"It's nice to meet you too Taylor." Marissa said politely. She turned to him and said, "Are you ready to go now?"

"Yeah," He took her hand and nodded to the others. He made her follow him to the car and said, "I have something planned for us today."

"Let me guess…movies at home?" She said unhappily.

"No, something better."

"Dinner at the diner?"

"First off, I vowed to no longer eat there remember?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood. He saw a small smile graze her lips and he said, "And no, you're wrong."

"Then I have no idea." She admitted.

"I thought we'd go to the beach for a couple of hours." He suggested. "And then maybe we could go get some Balboa bars on the pier."

"Really?" She asked, and he could see her whole face lighting up. "You mean it?"

"Of course." He said with a smile. "Now I think we need to go change." He said, looking down at their clothes. He was wearing his suit, and she was wearing an expensive blue dress. It wasn't exactly beach material.

"Yeah, I agree."

"So I'll go to my apartment, and then you can drive home and get whatever you need." He said.

"Yeah, works for me. Though, can you pick me up at my house?"

"Yeah, sure. Half an hour?"

"Yeah." She said with a smile as they reached his apartment. She leaned across the car and gave him a passionate kiss. "Thanks."

"Whatever makes you happy makes me happy." He said after a while.

"I'll see you." She said, waving to him as she got into her own car.

He smiled and walked into his apartment. He could've sworn it was the first large smile he'd seen on Marissa's face in a long time.

As they lay on the towels next to each other on the beach, he became anxious and wanted to go into the water. He turned to her and saw her on her stomach with her eyes closed. "Marissa…" He whispered close to her ear.

"Hmm?" She murmured.

"You wanna go in the water?" He asked.

"You do realize it's November right?" She asked, turning to smirk at him.

"Yes, I do. But you do realize that it's warm enough for you to tan in your bikini…which you look really, really attractive in by the way." He said with a smile as he scooted closer to her.

"Oh really?" She asked with a small smile. She leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips, and rolled over so she was on her back. He moved on top of her and started kissing down her neck. "Ryan, we're in public…with kids…" She managed to get out, though he could tell how hard it was for her to breathe.

"Yeah, I know." He said, reconnecting their lips again. She ran her hands over his toned muscles and then moved them through his hair. He pulled back after a while and then moved and made a quick move to pick her up.

"Ryan, what are you doing?" She demanded from him. When she saw that they were nearing the ocean, she started flipping out. "no, Ryan, no…don't you dare…" But it was too late, he threw her into the water.

He got in himself and said, "It's kind of cold, but that's alright with me." He looked over to where she was glaring at him and said, "You know you love me…"

"I may love you, but that doesn't mean I love this idea of yours." She said, spitting out water.

"Well, you'll have to deal." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "But for now…" He said, getting closer to her, "I have other plans."

"Does it involve me in cold water?" She asked with a roll of her eyes.

"No, but if you keep that attitude, you may find yourself in the water a lot more often." He threatened.

"Oh, I'm so scared." She said with a smirk.

"You're the one complaining." He pointed out. "But meanwhile, I think we should get out of the water. There's somewhere I want to take you."

"Okay." She said after a while, getting serious again. They got their towels, and walked hand in hand farther up the beach. "Where are we going?" She asked curiously.

"Somewhere we've been before." He said with a smile. When they reached their destination, she saw that it was the lifeguard station.

She smiled and walked up the ramp, leaving him behind. She sat down on the wooden floor of it, and looked over to him. "I love this thing." She said with a small smile.

"I know. You know….one of my first days here me and you ran into each other here."

"I remember." She said, patting the spot next to her for him to sit down. He walked over to her and sat down, putting his arm around her.

"I remember that you actually made me think there was no chance that me and you would ever work…" He admitted softly, staring out at the ocean.

"What do you mean?" She asked, turning to look at him. "Ever since I saw you, I knew you were special."

"Well, you had told me that you had met someone special…and it doesn't click until now what you meant." He admitted with a small chuckle.

"I always wondered why you ran away…literally…after that." She said softly. "It hurt me too."

"I'm not going to run away anymore." He said. She didn't say anything, but rested her head on his chest as they stared out at the ocean together. They were content with each other, and truly felt that nothing could make either of them run away.

If they only knew how close something, or someone could be that would make them question that.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N So this chapter totally sucks imo, but please review anyways.**

He jogged down the beach keeping a steady pace. He wouldn't let himself think about anything, wouldn't let himself get off target. This next hour was workout time, not think about how your girlfriend is at your apartment…in your bed…..naked…time. He shook his head and stared straight ahead of him. Focus, he told himself, just focus. He continued running, still thinking of Marissa in his bed…thinking about last night when they came home from dinner. He couldn't help but smile at the memory, and actually ran a bit faster as if that would help him stop remembering that she was waiting for him. He wouldn't crack, he would continue working. His team needed him to be fit….not that Marissa didn't make sure that happened….but he needed to be able to run without being distracted. After all, if he couldn't run, how was he expected to play a game of basketball without his mind being elsewhere?

He reached the lifeguard station and decided it was a good place to stop and rest. He wasn't really tired, in fact, he was really energetic today. He couldn't wait until his game later on that day…too bad there was a part before it. He sighed and sat down on the ground next to the station, not feeling like walking up the ramp without Marissa with him. He lay back on the sand and started doing sit ups, and then pushups, and then he started stretching again for the next part of his run.

He got up and started to walk back to the apartment, and then slowly increased his speed until he was practically sprinting down the beach. He stopped when he heard someone behind him, and turned to see Taylor. She was wearing a tank top and some beach shorts over her bathing suit, and she was carrying a bag with her. "Well if it isn't Ryan Atwood." She said with a smile.

"Taylor…hey," He said, trying to catch his breath after his fast run. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to tan like any other girl in Newport." She said with a small laugh. "What are you here for?" She asked, looking him up and down. "You're sweaty…so you've probably been working out right?"

"Yeah, I have." He said, finally catching his breath. He smiled at her and asked, "Where's Jeremy?"

"At home…I tired him out last night." She said with a large grin.

"Not what I wanted to know…but okay." He said with a small chuckle. He put his hands on his waist and looked out at the ocean. "It sure is nice out." He commented.

"Yeah, I love it out here." She said with a dreamy smile. She sat down and patted the spot next to her. He was hesitant, knowing he should get back to Marissa. She just smiled and said, "I'm not going to bite Ryan." He finally sat down next to her and looked out at the water. "When I was little, I remember I always liked to come out here with my mom. It was the one time where I could come and pretend that everything was alright, even if just for a little while."

"What's wrong with you and your mom?" he asked curiously. He remembered his own mom, and how she'd still gone back to Chino.

She sighed and looked down. "I was never good enough for her." She seemed to start to break down, and he wanted to help her, but just didn't know how. "She says I'm not pretty, and no one will ever like me….she tells me I'm fat and boring and talk way too much…." She started to cry, just a small amount of tears running down her face at first, but soon it was large sobs. "And now here I am…probably scaring you…"

"Taylor, you're not scaring me." He said softly. He put his arm around her for comfort, and hen said, "Look, your mom's totally wrong about you. I mean you're pretty for one…."

"Really?" She asked with a large smile. "I bet you're just saying that.

"No, I mean it. I mean…you're really pretty." He said, trying to make her feel better. He would never consider going out with her, but he still wanted to make sure she got the point, so he said, "I mean…if I wasn't with Marissa…"

She laughed and he smiled. "Yeah right, now I really know you're just trying to make me feel better."

"No, I'm serious. And about the whole dating thing…you've got a great guy like Jeremy that's with you. That's got to count for something right?"

"Yeah, thanks Ryan." She said, wiping her face. "You're really nice."

"I aim to please." He joked.

"No seriously, you're really, really nice." She said, looking him straight in the eye.

He became slightly uncomfortable, but couldn't bring himself to get up. She was lonely right now…he couldn't just bail on her right? Marissa could wait…couldn't she? He sighed to himself and turned back out to the ocean. "When I was little, I looked up to my dad." He said with a nod. "Everything I did, I just wanted to make him proud."

"What happened?"

"He got arrested for armed robbery. It was around my birthday, and he needed some extra cash. My dad loved me, but sometimes had a weird way of showing it." He said sadly. "When he was arrested, he told me that Atwoods aren't supposed to cry. I haven't cried since."

"That's just stupid though." She said quickly. "I mean, how else are you going to let out inner emotions?"

"Talk?" He suggested.

She laughed and said, "Please, Ryan, we both know that this is the most you've talked to anyone besides maybe Marissa since you've come to Newport…and that was how many months ago?"

He thought about it and then said, "Like….six months. It's currently November…so, yeah, six months."

"Where does the time go?" She asked with a small laugh.

"I don't know." He admitted, lost in thought. So him and Marissa had been going out for six months? That was a long time. He'd never gone out with a girl that long…never even really talked to one that long except for Theresa.

"So how long have you and Marissa been going out?" She asked, though when she did, he thought he heard something change in her voice.

"Um…six months." He said quietly. "Six months exactly on Friday." He said, suddenly realizing it.

"Wow, six months." She said with wide eyes. "I'm surprised you're still with her."

"Excuse me?" He asked defensively.

She held up her hands in surrender almost and said, "Take it easy, I'm just saying…six months is a long time. There's no telling what will happen with you two. I mean, there was this one girl that I knew who had been with her boyfriend for six months and she suddenly thought that he should propose to her. When he didn't, she left him."

"Propose?" He asked, trying not to seem edgy. He loved Marissa and everything, but marriage already? He was nineteen for goodness sake.

"Yeah," She said with a nod of her head.

"Well, how do you know…"

"Know what?"

"If she's ready to get married…"

"Oh, nothing you have to worry about." She said with a wave of her hand dismissively. "She'll just be really moody, and want more attention, and stuff like that." She looked at him and then looked down at her watch. "Oh, I have to go…..I guess that I've been talking to you so long that all this time has gone bye. So bye!" She said, walking away from him. He was completely oblivious to the large smile on her face by the obvious his obvious discomfort.

He got up and walked the rest of the way back to his apartment. He didn't feel like running anymore. Taylor must've been messing with him…because there was no way that being with someone for six months meant that you suddenly should get married. That was just stupid right? He entered the apartment and was met by the smell of smoke.

He quickly walked inside and shouted, "Marissa! Marissa, are you okay?!" He ran to the kitchen and saw a lot of smoke and saw the kitchen window open. He walked into the living room and saw her watching TV, totally oblivious to everything. "Umm, you are aware that there's smoke in the kitchen right?" He asked, sitting next to her on the couch.

"Yeah, what kind of person would I be if I didn't." She said with a roll of her eyes. He raised one eyebrow and then she said, "Okay, so I tried to make breakfast…which I've never done before by the way, and I may have accidentally burnt the food…" She said with an embarrassed smile.

He smiled and leaned in and kissed her softly. When he pulled back he said, "Lucky for you, I don't love you for your cooking skills." He remembered what Taylor had said before, and then said, "Do you ever think about where our relationship is going?"

"Like what?" She asked, turning back and looking at the TV.

"You know….like…getting really serious?"

"We're serious now aren't we?" She asked, turning to look at him again.

"Yeah, but I mean…you know…"

"You mean like getting married or something?" She asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah…maybe."

"Why do you want to know?" she asked suspiciously.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to be popping the question anytime soon." He said with a small smile. "I just….I was talking to Taylor today…"

"Taylor…as in Jeremy's girlfriend?"

"yeah, that's her. Anyways, so I was talking to her because I saw her on the beach, and she kept going on and on about how when you reach your six month anniversary, the girl usually starts thinking about marriage and wants the boyfriend to propose…"

"We're close to our sixth month anniversary?"

"Yeah, on Friday."

"Only six days…wow…I'm surprised I'm not tired of you yet." She joked.

"So you're not thinking about marriage?"

"I've thought about it, yeah…but what girl hasn't when they have a boyfriend? I'm not saying that I want you to pop the question….and I'm not telling you I don't. I guess we're both not ready for something that big yet…"

" I agree." He said with a small smile.

"Good, so are we okay?" she asked, cuddling up next to him on the couch.

"Yeah, we're perfect." He said with a smile. Taylor's first strike hadn't hit them, little did they know there would be more to come. "Except you need to work on your cooking…"

"Okay, so I'd like to see you to do better."

"I will someday…just not today. See, I'm really dirty and need a shower." He said with a large grin. "Speaking of showers…you know, I think you need one too."

"Hmm, yeah, I don't know." She said, starting to pull away from him, teasing him.

"Yeah, you do." He said, getting up and putting her over his shoulder. "So I think we should go get that shower now…"

"Ryan! Put me down!" She demanded, but giggled too. "I'm serious!"

"So am I." He said, taking her with him into the shower.

So they took their shower together, making sure the other was extra clean. Neither thought of the party that night or how eventful it just might be….


	24. Chapter 24

"I really don't want to go to this thing," Marissa said with a sigh as she put on her earrings. She looked into the mirror and saw Ryan leaning against the doorframe, looking at her through the reflection.

"The sooner we get there, the sooner we get to leave." He said with a small smile. "So I suggest that you hurry up and get ready."

"Hey, I want to look good." She said defensively. "Don't you want me to look good?"

"I think you look perfect." He said, walking towards her. He put his hands on her waist and then brought her a little closer. "In fact…I think you look really, really sexy right about now…."

He started placing small kisses on her neck and she felt the shivers go down her spine. "I thought you wanted me to hurry up and get ready so we could go to the party." She said with a smirk.

"I found something that's a lot more fun." He said, starting to suck her neck gently.

"Ryan…we can't…not now." She said, fighting the urge to moan.

"And why not?" He asked, pulling back and looking at her in the mirror.

"People will know what we were doing….my dad will know what we were doing. I don't want to put up with that." She said honestly.

"Then hurry up," He said playfully. "You seriously look beautiful though."

She blushed slightly and said, "Thanks."

"So are you almost done?"

"Yeah, just give me five minutes. If you're in such a hurry, why don't you start the car?" She suggested.

"Okay, five minutes," He said, walking out of the room so he could go start the car.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. Ryan told her that he'd talked to Taylor earlier today, and she couldn't explain why, but that slightly bothered her. It wasn't that she didn't trust Ryan….she just didn't like Taylor for some reason. There was something about her that made Marissa want to stay clear away from her. She finished up her make up and then looked up to see Ryan watching her. "Yes?"

"Nothing…I'm just admiring you." He said, walking closer to her once again.

She turned and smiled at him. "Really?" She said, putting her arms around his neck.

"Yes, really," He said, leaning in and kissing her lips softly.

She kissed him for a while, letting herself get lost in his arms. When she pulled back she smiled and said, "I think we should go now…we don't want to be late right?"

She smirked and pulled away from his arms and walked off. He groaned behind her and said, "If we're a few minutes late it won't be that bad…"

"Nope…you didn't want to be late." She said, walking out of his apartment.

"Come on," He begged.

She turned around and he stopped. "One kiss." She said, leaning in and connecting their lips again. He moved his hand through her hair and she started to get lost again but pulled away. "There, we had our kiss…it's time to go now."

He sighed and opened the car door for her. "Why do you torture me this way?" he asked once he got in his own seat and buckled the seatbelt.

"If I don't…what's there to look forward to in our relationship. See, this way, I always leave you wanting more. If I gave you what you wanted, then there's no excitement and I don't want you to leave me because there isn't any excitement."

"I can assure you, I will not be leaving with or without excitement." He said, starting to drive off.

"You say that now…." She said quietly so that he couldn't hear her.

"What did you say?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing."

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About an hour later Ryan and Marissa were hanging out with Seth and Summer. "These parties are sooo boring. This is one thing I didn't miss about Newport." Summer said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I'd do anything to not have to come to these parties," Marissa said honestly. "I mean…it was one thing to have to go to one every week, but to go to one for the basketball team every couple of days is just too much."

Ryan put his arm around her and said, "It'll all be over soon."

"No, it really won't. You've still got until April at least until playoffs and then there's no telling if you guys do make it there." She sighed and said, "This is no where near over."

"I meant this party…..it's almost over." He said quietly.

She sighed and said, "I should've known."

He was going to say something when Taylor suddenly came up to them. "Hey guys..." She said, looking at Ryan specifically. "How are you doing?"

Summer noticed the way Taylor paid attention to Ryan and quickly asked, "Where's Jeremy?"

Taylor looked at Summer as if she was just noticing that she was there. "Oh…he's getting us a drink. He'll be over here soon."

"So how have you been?" Ryan asked

Taylor smiled at him and said, "I've been really good actually."

"I'm glad," Ryan said with a smile. Summer didn't like Taylor one bit.

Taylor turned to Marissa and said, "So I hear that you and Ryan have a six month anniversary coming up."

Marissa smiled softly and looked at Ryan. She took his hand and laced their fingers together. "Yeah, we do." She said, looking into Ryan's eyes. Summer felt herself smile despite her gut feeling about Taylor. She seemed like she cared right?

"You and Atwood are having a six month anniversary together?" Seth asked bewildered. "You've been here that long?"

"I guess I have." Ryan said with a smile. "And I'm still loving every minute of it."

"Well I'd hope you are." Marissa said with a laugh. "If not…we have some serious issues."

Taylor watched the two and Summer watched her. Taylor seemed a little edgy about seeing them, Summer could tell. "So Taylor…how long have you and Jeremy been going out?" she asked, trying to bring Taylor back to the real world where she was dating someone and not staring at Ryan.

"Not long." Taylor said. Just then Jeremy came in behind her with two glasses in his hand.

"Here's your drink my lady." He said with a smile.

"Thanks." Taylor said, turning and looking at him.

Jeremy turned to all of them and said, "This party is pretty boring huh?"

Marissa nodded and sighed. "God yes."

"It isn't that bad." Ryan said with a sigh.

"Oh yes it is, I'm dying of boredom." Marissa said with a sigh. She was quiet for a moment and then her face brightened up. "You know what…I think that we should dance." She said to Ryan with a smile.

"Dancing…me…no."

"You've danced with me before." She said with a small pout.

"Yeah, not in front of all these people though." He said back.

"Please…" She asked with a puppy dog look. "For me?"

Ryan watched her for a little while and then finally said, "Fine…you know I can't resist that look."

She smiled and took his arm, leading him off. "That's why I used it."

Summer turned to Seth and Jeremy. "This is not going to go well."

Taylor looked at them with a confused look, "How come?"

"Because Coop and Atwood dancing means being really close together…" Summer started.

"And that means that things are going to start getting hot and steamy…" Seth continued for her.

"….And that means that the photographers in the room, which happen to love using the Ryan and Marissa relationship in their magazines will take pictures resulting in an argument between the two."

Taylor was quiet and then said, "So they have a weakness when it comes to magazines huh?"

Seth nodded his head and said, "Yep, that and Ryan's fame."

Summer knew that Seth didn't know what he was doing, but she did. Taylor's little smirk said it all.

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Meanwhile Ryan and Marissa were on the dance floor. "You know I don't like dancing." He said with a sigh.

"And you know that I do." She replied with a smirk. "Now you can complain, or you can put your hands on me."

He thought about that for a minute and then said, "Fine." He put his hands on her waist and smiled.

"Oh wow, a smile. What did I do to deserve that?" She joked.

"Oh nothing, I just realized that dancing means that I get to be very close to you without getting in trouble."

"That is very true." She whispered close to his face. Just then some faster music played. Marissa started grinding against Ryan and asked, "Are you having fun yet?"

"Lots of it actually." He said with a smile. He started letting his arms roam her body.

"Ryan….not here," she whispered close to his ear.

"But you look very sexy." He said huskily.

She gulped and said, "You don't look so bad yourself."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. She didn't fight back, even though she knew that she should. She rather encouraged it by placing her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He pulled back real quick and said, "I thought you didn't like that much PDA."

"Right now I don't care." She said, leaning in and kissing him again, this time slipping her tongue into his mouth. He moved his hands a little farther so that they were grazing her butt just slightly and she felt a shiver go through her body.

"I….think….we….should….leave." He said in between kisses.

"Good idea." She said pulling back. She took his hand and said, "Let's go say bye to Seth and Summer."

They walked towards the two who were still with Taylor and Jeremy. "So we're going to go." Ryan said quickly.

"Yeah…we're kind of tired. You guys know how it is." Marissa said with a nod.

"Yeah, right. You guys were totally making out on the dance floor and I'm glad you guys managed to get away from each other before it became something more." Summer said with a smirk. "See…what'd I tell you guys?"

Seth and Jeremy laughed but Taylor didn't smile. "I don't know how you guys can be so comfortable making out in public like that. I know that I wouldn't be able to with all those cameras." Taylor said with a shake of her head.

"Cameras?" Marissa asked with a frown.

"Yeah, tons of camera guys all hiding around the room. I saw them." Taylor said with a nod.

"Come on….let's just go." Ryan suggested, pulling Marissa with him. "See you guys later." He mumbled.

When they reached his car Marissa sighed. "Ryan, I hate being the cover of a magazine."

"I know." He said with a sigh. "But at least we're going home now….which means that we can't really be caught now can we?" He said with a suggestive smile.

She sighed and got in the car. "I don't know if I'm in the mood anymore."

He walked to the other side of the car and then got in. "They're just camera guys, I don't see why you make such a big deal about it." He said with a sigh as he started the car.

"Why I'm making such a big deal? Ryan, I don't want people knowing what my life is like." She said with a frustrated sigh. "It's none of their business. I'm sorry if you are so busy trying to get in my pants to care."

He quickly became angry. "Me trying to get in your pants….you know it's not like that."

"Whatever, I'm just not in the mood right now okay." She said.

They drove the rest of the way in an angry silence.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N Please R/R**

He was jogging down the beach when he heard a familiar voice call out, "Ryan!"

He stopped and turned to see Taylor walking towards him with a smile. He felt himself smile politely and said, "Taylor….hey."

"So we meet again." She said, reaching him.

"I guess we do." He replied with a small smile. "So what have you been up to?"

She shrugged and said, "Nothing much. Jeremy wanted to go to the gym this morning but I didn't feel like going with him. I figured I'd have more fun walking on the beach."

"It is nice out today." He said, observing the beach. There weren't too many people here yet because it was still kind of early in the morning. "Good weather." He added.

"Yeah." Taylor said with a nod of her head. "So where's Marissa?" She asked him after a while.

He sighed and said, "At my apartment. She doesn't really like getting up this early in the morning." He chuckled. "It's almost impossible to wake her up before ten without her being really mad at you."

Taylor didn't laugh, just smiled. "Well that's nice." She was quiet for a little bit and then asked, "So are things okay with you two? I mean, things seemed a little strained after the whole camera thing last night…"

He shrugged and sighed. "Marissa hates talks about cameras. She doesn't believe that what goes on in our relationship is anyone else's business."

"And what do you think about it?" Taylor asked after a while.

He thought about it and then said, "I don't think it's that big of a deal. I mean I don't have anything to hide." He sighed and then asked, "What about you…do you think I'm wrong for not caring like she does?"

"Definitely not. I think she's just over exaggerating everything. I know that I don't care if I'm in a magazine. I'd be flattered to be in a magazine with someone like you…" She said, looking him in the eye and putting her hand on his arm.

He looked down at it and then said, "What do you mean when you say someone like me?"

"Someone that's smart, good at basketball, good looking…the list goes on Ryan. I don't think Marissa realizes how good she's got it."

"Oh and you do?" He asked suspiciously. He knew that this conversation was getting close to crossing the line.

"I have friends that would love to be with you Ryan." She said.

"So this has nothing to do with you?" He asked, still a little suspicious.

She pulled her hand away and put it at her mouth like she was shocked. "Of course not! I'm just saying that Marissa doesn't appreciate you."

"I'm pretty sure she does." He said in her defense.

"She doesn't. When was the last time that she complimented you? Or how about the last time she did something for you?"

"She…well….she compliments me." He said after a while.

"In what ways? When was the last time she told you that you were doing a great job in basketball?"

"She tells me all the time." He said defensively.

Taylor shrugged and said, "Okay, but when was the last time it looked like she really meant it, or the last time she looked like she cared?"

He didn't answer, but instead said, "She does appreciate me, I know she does."

"I'm sure you do Ryan." Taylor said with a smile. "Just think about what I said."

He watched her walk off and then started to jog again. Taylor was just messing with him right? She couldn't be telling the truth. Him and Marissa were going to celebrate their six month anniversary in a couple of days and they were going to do just fine. Marissa really did appreciate him. She really did care. She didn't just say things like that and not mean them.

But what Taylor said made sense. Marissa never did anything for him. Yeah she went to parties but she complained the whole time. She went to his games, but only because she was expected to. When was the last time that she'd smiled at him and complimented him on what a great player he was? When was the last time that she ever just stood there and admired him like he always did to her? When was the last time that she had done something that benefited him and not her? He couldn't come up with an answer.

And as he reached his apartment, he still had no clue.

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Marissa had been sitting on the couch waiting for Ryan to come back. She had wanted to talk to him. She didn't know what exactly, but she just wanted to talk…something that they hadn't truly did in a while. They were always making small talk and talking about going somewhere, but they never sat down and really talked about their lives and what they were feeling. When he walked in, she quickly went to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in and kissed him. He quickly pulled back and asked, "What was that for?"

"Because I wanted to." She said with a smile. He pulled away from the embrace and started walking in the direction of their bedroom. She frowned and followed him. "What are you doing?"

He rummaged through the drawers for some of his shorts and then grabbed another pair of boxers. He grabbed a wife beater and turned to her and said, "I'm going to take a shower."

"Oh…well I was hoping we could talk." She said softly, following him into the bathroom.

He sighed and said, "Give me twenty minutes to take a shower and then we'll talk."

"You seem very excited about it." She said sarcastically.

He turned to her and said, "I have a lot on my mind okay."

"Well, that's why we should talk. I want to know what's going on in your head." She said softly.

"Do you really?" He asked, staring at her. "Do you really care?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"I was talking to Taylor…" He sat on the edge of the tub in the bathroom and then said, "And she brought up some good points."

"About what? Us?" She asked, not getting what he was getting at.

"Just stuff." He said, dismissing it.

"Why don't you tell me what it is? We could talk about it with each other. Ryan…I miss being able to talk to you without anything being in the way. Right now we have that chance again…."

"I have to take a shower." He said, pulling his shirt over his head. He turned and saw her still there and said, "Alone."

"Oh, okay." She said hurt. "I'll just go wait for you in the living room then." She said quietly, walking away from him.

She sat down on the edge of his bed, deciding that she didn't want to go all the way to the living room. She waited patiently for him to take a shower, wondering what was wrong with him.

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Ryan sighed as he walked out of the shower. He was really confused about the whole Marissa appreciating him thing. Taylor just goes off and tells him how she doesn't and then he comes home and she wants to talk? Taylor wasn't right…if that's not appreciating someone then what is?

He got dressed and then walked into the room to see her sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting for him. He was going to say something but she quickly said, "Will you tell me what I did wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong." He said softly, sitting down next to her on the bed.

"Well then why are you acting like you're mad at me?" She asked with a hint of hurt in her voice. "Is this because I didn't want to do anything last night when we got home?"

"No…" he said softly. "It has nothing to do with you really…"

"What do you mean really?"

"It's just….I talked to Taylor again today…" He started, but trailed off.

"You talked to Taylor again?" She asked, looking a bit jealous. "What is she stalking you?"

"Yes I talked to Taylor and no she's not stalking me." He said with a sigh. "She just made me think about some things.."

"What things?"

He sighed and looked down. After a few minutes he looked up and into her eyes. "Do you love me?" he asked.

"Of course I do." She said softly.

"Then you have nothing to worry about." He promised with a small smile. He leaned in and kissed her softly, all his doubts melting away.

"What was that for?" She murmured against his lips when they pulled back.

"Because I can." He replied with a smile.

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Later that day when Marissa went to her parent's house to get some clothes, Ryan called up Taylor and told her to meet him at the diner. He walked in and sat there waiting for her and she came in.

"Hey Ryan--"

But he cut her off. "Marissa does appreciate me." He said quickly. "She loves me."

"I'm really glad." She said with a smile.

"I have no doubts." he said, trying to make her see his point. "I love her and she loves me."

She nodded and said, "That's good."

"And me and her…we're going to work out." He said with a sure nod.

"Okay." She said with a smile.

"That's all I really wanted to tell you." He said, getting up. "I didn't want to say it over the phone….it was just something I needed to say in person."

"Bye." She said. He started to walk away and she said, "I'm sure Brad and Jennifer were in love too."

He turned around and asked, "What?"

"You know what I said, so I really don't have to repeat it." She said, looking him in the eye. "Bye Ryan, hope you have a nice evening."

He turned around and walked away confused, never noticing the way she smirked behind his back.


	26. Chapter 26

"I don't know what's wrong with us." Ryan said as he dribbled the ball and dunked it. He turned to Seth who was just standing on the side and sighed. "You know, the whole point of this is for you to practice."

"No, that's where you're wrong buddy." Seth said, taking a step closer to him and shaking his head. "You called me telling me that we were going to practice together but see, I got the true message." He looked at Ryan and must have seen the way that Ryan's eyebrows raised in confusion and said, "You called me here saying that we were going to practice but you really wanted to come and get my advice on your whole relationship situation."

"What situation is that exactly?" Ryan asked with a sigh.

"That you don't know what's wrong with you guys….just as you said before." Seth said with a smile. "Now tell me, what's been happening that makes you believe that there's something wrong? Is the sex bad?"

"That is none of your business." Ryan said defensively.

"Well, what is it then?" Seth asked. "I mean, there has to be something wrong that has caught your attention and made you call me for a fake practice. So now, answer my question."

"The sex is not bad…not that I should be telling you. It's just…different…"

"Different how?" Seth asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

"Different as in different." Ryan said with a sigh. "I don't know."

"Well you're the one who said it was different so by golly Ryan you should know why it's different."

"By golly?" Ryan asked with a laugh.

"Whatever, just answer me." Seth said with a sigh.

"Okay, when we're…together…I just, it doesn't feel like it used to. It feels almost forced, like we're not really showing our love but just showing lust." He said honestly. He sighed and then added, "I mean….when I'm with her, I used to show her all the time, tell her all the time how much I loved her. I would want to make sure that she was happy, and I would go out of my way to make sure that she smiled. But now I don't know what has happened to us. When we're together, it doesn't seem magical like it used to. We're always arguing and everything."

"And how long has this been going on?"

"Since that party with Taylor that one day. The one were she talked about the photographers." Ryan said with a sigh.

"Well did you talk about it?" Seth asked.

"Well…yeah…sure we did…" Ryan said hesitantly.

Seth shook his head and sighed. "Ryan, you need to talk to her about this. What exactly do you guys talk about?"

"We don't…" Ryan said with a sigh.

"You mean that you guys haven't talked, like really talked, in like a week now?" Seth asked with a surprise.

"Yeah, I guess so." Ryan said with a sad sigh. "I mean, today's our anniversary…six months…and I haven't even really talked to her in a while."

"It's been a week only…it could be worse." Seth said, trying to make his friend feel better.

"Yeah, but this is me and Marissa. I love her….four days feels almost like a lifetime. I should've talked when she wanted to the other day." Ryan said, sitting down on the ground.

"You didn't talk to her when she wanted you to?" Seth asked with wide eyes. "You do know that that's like….horrible."

"I know, and I wish I could take it back now." Ryan said with a sigh. "It's just… Taylor keeps bugging me…"

"What does Taylor have to do with you and Marissa?"

"I know I shouldn't really care what she says or does….but I can't help it…"

"Do you like….like Taylor ?" Seth asked in disgust.

Ryan's eyes widened and he quickly said, "No, no, no! I'm just saying…she keeps putting all kinds of stuff into my head. Like the other day she was asking if Marissa appreciated me and then later on she said that even Brad and Jen were probably happy before they broke up."

"Well don't listen to her." Seth said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's not that hard man."

"I know…." Ryan said, even though he knew it was a lie. He couldn't help but think about what Taylor said to him. She just got under his skin, something he never liked about a girl. He loved Marissa and he knew that she loved him too….but something about Taylor 's words made him question their relationship. "You know what, I'm going to talk to Marissa." He announced, standing up.

"There you go man, finally you see the light!" Seth said with a smile.

"Thanks, for you know…coming to my fake practice an everything…" Ryan said with a small smile.

"Don't mention it. That's what friends are for right?" Seth said with a smile.

"Yeah." Ryan replied, walking away with a smile.

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Ryan found Marissa asleep in bed considering it was just eight in the morning. He'd called Seth early because he needed to tell someone about his doubts, about his insecurities. Now he knew that the person he should've told was sleeping next to him all along. "Marissa." He said, placing one hand on her shoulder and rubbing it affectionately.

"Mmm…" She murmured, rolling over and slowly opening her eyes. When they focused on him, they looked slightly surprised. "How late did I sleep in?" She asked, looking at the clock.

"Not late at all." He said, lying down next to her. "I just got up early and went to the gym with Seth and then decided to come back home early."

"How come?" She questioned suspiciously.

"Because I wanted to see you." He admitted with a shy smile. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Talk, yeah right." She said, turning over in bed again and closing her eyes. "I must be dreaming."

"You're not." He said softly, putting one hand on her back softly, making her turn over and look at him.

"But this past week, you've been distant…" she started.

"I know, and I want to talk to you about that." He said, moving a strand of her hair behind her ear. "If you want to that is."

She gave him a small smile and said, "I do, I want to know what's been bothering you."

"And after we finish talking about that…I want to talk some more." He announced with a smile.

"Really, what about?" She asked with her eyebrow raised.

"Anything you want to." He said. "Let's have that talk that you wanted the other day."

He saw her eyes sparkle and she smiled widely. "Really?" She asked like a little kid who was just given permission to get that toy that they'd been wanting.

"Yeah, I want to know what's going on in your mind." He said, leaning in and kissing her softly. He pulled back and looked into her eyes, the same eyes that made him fall for her in the first place.

"So let's get started. Why were you upset the other day when I wanted to talk?" She asked with a little bit of hurt in her tone.

"I had ran into Taylor on the beach the other day and we got to talking and she ended up basically saying that you didn't appreciate me…"

"And you said no right?" Marissa asked quickly.

"Yeah, I mean, I did…but then she kept talking…" Ryan started to say.

"No, there's no buts Ryan." Marissa said with a sigh. "Either you say yes or no."

"She said some things…" He said after a while.

"And you didn't defend me did you?" She asked hurt. "You didn't tell her no."

"She was basically saying that you didn't show interests in my game and didn't really want to be there. She said that you weren't complimenting me…" He trailed off and looked at Marissa who was looking away from him. "Marissa…"

"No Ryan." She said softly. "You didn't believe in me." She said quietly.

"I did…I swear I did. It's just…you never compliment me anymore. And when we're at games you don't look like you want to be there…." He said, putting his hand on the side of her face. "I love you…"

"That doesn't change anything though does it? Look, I may not compliment you a lot, and may complain a lot about wanting to be at all the parties but I know how important those games are to you. Yeah, I may not always want to be there, but I end up liking it because I know that you love it and seeing you that way makes me happy." She said, looking him straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry I ever doubted you." He said softly, looking away from her, feeling like he didn't deserve to look at her.

"I know you are…but you have to promise you won't doubt me anymore okay?" She asked, leaning in and kissing him softly. "I don't like it when you doubt me."

"I don't like to doubt you." He said, kissing her back. After a while he pulled back and said, "Now where were we?"

"Is that all that happened with Taylor ?"

"Yeah." He said, partially telling the truth. "Now what else did you want to talk about?"

Marissa smiled and silently debated that question while he put his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. "Hmm, what's your favorite color?"

"I thought I'd already told you that a long time ago?" He said with a small laugh.

"Nope, it never came up. You haven't really told me that much stuff like that. So what is it?"

"White."

"White is not a color." She said with a sigh. "You need a real color."

"It is too a color." He argued back.

"No, white is a not a color. Go ask any artist."

"Well what's your favorite color?" He asked with a smile.

"Hmm, I'd have to say either purple or pink." She said after some careful thought.

"Yeah, typical girl right there." He said with a small laugh.

"Hey, they're cute colors. At least my favorite color is a color." She said playfully.

"White is a color." He said with a smile.

"Here we go again." She said with a playful roll of her eyes.

"No, let's not." He let out a breath and then said, "Okay, what do you prefer, a dog or a cat?"

"A dog, definitely." She said with a nod of her head.

"Good answer. Umm, one or two kids?"

"Hmm, probably two." She said softly. She looked him in the eye and then cuddled closer to him.

"That's what I was thinking." He said, kissing her forehead.

"Okay, now I get to ask some questions. Let's see…did you ever have a pet?"

"Yeah, a dog. I can't even remember the name it's been so long….but I remember it died because it got hit by a car."

"That must have been hard."

"I can't really remember….I was pretty young." He admitted. "What about you?"

"We had a dog named Dustin a couple of years ago but I think he ran away or something because I haven't seen him in a while. I guess that shows how close I was to him huh?" She said with a small laugh.

"So have you had any other boyfriends?" He asked after a while.

She looked at him and raised one eyebrow. "Have you had any other girlfriends?"

"I asked you first."

"Yeah, but I want to know."

"If I tell you, you have to tell me."

"Deal. I've had one boyfriend named Luke."

"Were you in love?"

"I thought I was." She admitted.

"I had one real girlfriend named Theresa but also had a lot of one night stands." He admitted sheepishly.

"Oh really?" She asked, scooting a little away from him.

He grabbed her arm and said, "But none of them mean to me what you do." He pulled her closer to him again.

"Glad to hear that." She said, resting her head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat. She let out a sigh of content and smiled softly to herself.

"So tell me about Luke…" he said after a while.

"Hmm, he was a water polo player…" She started, looking up and seeing that he was clearly jealous. "All the girls wanted him."

"Including you?"

"No, I already had him." She said, teasing him.

"Yeah, well, now you have me." He said, flipping her over and climbing on top of her.

She giggled and said, "Glad to know."

He leaned in and kissed her, softly at first, but then with an increase in passion. He pulled back after a while, breathless, and said, "Happy anniversary."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "I love you."

"I love you too."

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Marissa walked in the mall holding Ryan's hand and looked for the cameras. When she didn't see any, she smiled and let herself lean against Ryan as they walked. Ryan had decided he was taking her shopping for their anniversary, and she planned on making the best of it. "Hmm, how about the jewelry store?" Ryan asked her.

"That sounds good." She turned and saw Taylor out of the corner of her eye head into the bathroom. "You know what, I'm going to the restroom. I'll be out in just a minute." She said, letting go of his hand and walking towards the restroom.

She entered it and saw Taylor looking at herself in the mirror. She walked up to her and Taylor said, "Hey…Marissa…"

"Cut the crap Taylor." She said with a sigh.

"What are you talking about?" Taylor asked, bewildered.

"Ryan's my boyfriend….he loves me, and I don't want you talking to him anymore."

"Ryan's a big boy…but I'm sure you know that." Taylor said with a smirk before continuing, "And I think he can talk to whoever he wants to."

"He can, and you can too. But he's my boyfriend, as I said earlier, and you're going to stay clear of any topic including me."

"Says who?" Taylor challenged.

"Says me. And believe me, if you do talk about me….I'll make your life a living hell." She threatened.

"How so?"

"You want Jeremy to know you're hitting on Ryan? How about if I tell Summer what you've been hitting on Ryan? I'm sure Summer could come up with a lot better way to get you."

Taylor was quiet for a while and then said, "Fine."

"Have a nice day." She said, walking out of the restroom. She saw Ryan waiting for her and smiled at him. "Let's go…we have a lot of shopping to do." She said, taking his hand again.

She saw Taylor walk out of the restroom and came up with a little idea that would be both fun for her and Ryan. She turned Ryan so that he was facing her and he looked at her confusedly and started to say, "What are you.." But then was cut off by her lips crashing into his. At first it was trying to make Taylor see that Ryan was hers, but then it soon became heated. She let her tongue slip into Ryan's mouth and moaned as he massaged it with his own. She put her arms around her neck but then ran them down his body and into the back pockets of his jeans.

She heard someone clear their throat and turned to see Summer with Seth standing there, staring at them with amused looks on their faces. "Well what do we have here?" Seth asked.

"Nothing." Ryan replied, still flushed from the kiss. He put his arm around her and then said, "Let's go finish shopping."

"Okay." She said, turning and seeing Taylor walk away quickly. She smirked and put her arm around Ryan's waist also, hoping that Taylor finally got the message.


	27. Chapter 27

Ryan and Marissa's anniversary had been fun for the both of them. Marissa had gotten a diamond necklace and a promise ring with the promise that she'd get a real one in the near future. She had loved her ring, and made sure that he knew it later that night when they were all alone together in his apartment. After a night of lovemaking, they were exhausted in the morning and slept in since Ryan didn't have a game until later during the evening. At around eleven in the morning, Ryan was the first of the two lovers to finally awake from their deep sleep. He yawned and stretched out his arms before looking over at Marissa sleeping next to him in the bed. She was cuddled up next to him, and he smiled slightly. He leaned in and kissed the sensitive spot on her neck which caused her to moan and wake up slowly. He continued kissing her neck and even started sucking on it just a bit until suddenly he pulled away from her and started to get out of bed.

"And where do you think you're going?" Marissa asked sleepily, grabbing onto his arm and keeping him on the bed.

"A late morning, almost noon jog?" He said, leaning in and kissing her softly before attempting to get up again.

"Hmm, nope, I don't think so." Marissa said with a firm nod as she sat up slightly in bed. She got on her two knees and moved closer to him, putting her arms around his neck and kissing him. When she pulled back, he looked down at her naked body and could feel his own start to react. "See, what I think you're going to do, is stay here, make me some breakfast, and then come back to bed where I will give you a good workout." She smiled slyly at him and kissed him again, this time more heated.

He pulled back after a while and said, "Oh really, and why would I do that instead of run?"

She pushed him back onto the bed and climbed on top of him. "Because I said so." She leaned in and kissed him again, slipping her tongue into his mouth and massaging his tongue with her own. She let her hand travel down his body and he moaned in her mouth, causing her to pull apart from him. "But if you still want that jog…"

"I think this will do." He said, making a move and flipping her over so he was on top.

She smiled and said, "How about that breakfast?"

"Breakfast is overrated." He said, leaning down and kissing her, running his hands all over her body.

"I thought that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?" She questioned amusedly.

He shook his head and said, "I found something a lot more important." She smiled and laughed and he smiled too.

"I think you're probably right." She said after she recovered from her laughing fit.

He stopped the conversation by connecting their lips again and slipping his tongue into her mouth and for the next hour, they totally forgot about the rest of the world.

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Marissa sighed and sat down in her chair. Ryan had another basketball game today, so here she was, sitting in floor seats, waiting to watch the game but at the same time bored out of her mind. She pulled out her phone and was about to text Summer to see where she was when she heard someone approach. She looked up and saw a medium height man with brown hair and green eyes standing in front of her. "Hi." He said, sitting down next to her.

She nodded towards him politely and said, "Hi."

He stuck out his hand and said, "My name's Nicholas Evans."

"Marissa Cooper." She said, shaking his hand, surprised at how warm and soft it was. Ryan's hands weren't this warm and were slightly rough from all the work that he'd done in his life before he came to Newport.

"I kind of already knew that from the magazines, but it's nice to meet you in person." he said with a dimpled smile. "so you're here to watch Ryan play right?"

"yeah, and my dad's the coach..." She said. "It was actually getting pretty boring here." she said honestly, not knowing why she was saying it though.

"Well, looks like you just found someone to keep you occupied." he said with a slight smile.

She looked at him and smiled saying, "Yeah, I guess I have."

He sat back in his seat and asked, "So is having your life splashed on the front cover of magazines fun?"

She sighed and shook her head no. "It really isn't fun, it's actually quite hard." She thought of all her past frustrations and said, "I can't kiss Ryan in public without wondering if it's going to be in a magazine. I can't go anywhere with him without a fan or camera man far behind." She looked over the court and saw that Ryan was practicing and said, "Sometimes I just want to have a more normal life."

"Have you ever told Ryan that?" he asked, looking at her and then looking at Ryan.

"I've told him that I can't stand the cameras, but he never really understands why it bothers me so much." She admitted sadly.

"Well why does it bother you so much? I mean, Ryan seems to take to the fame and fortune pretty well, why not you?"

She thought about it and then said, "I think it's because before Ryan, I was always the center of attention. I was the most popular girl in school dating the most popular guy, the girl that was expected to be perfect all the time with her perfect family and perfect grades and supposedly perfect life." She got quiet and then said, "Ryan was my escape. When he came, I wanted out of this supposed perfect life…I wanted out of the spotlight. But I had to choose to fall in love with the most famous guy on the team huh?" She asked with a bitter laugh.

"Do you regret loving Ryan?" Nicholas asked after a while.

She quickly said, "No, believe me, I don't. Being with him is like the best thing that's ever happened to me. I just sometimes miss when he wasn't famous and it was just me and him and not the fans and the camera men tagging along." She sighed and asked, "Is that too selfish?"

"Well, I wouldn't say selfish." Nicholas said. She looked at him curiously and he continued. "Think of it in Ryan's point of view. He's from Chino where he probably wasn't recognized by anyone for his talents until this great opportunity comes along to play for a professional basketball team without even going to college first. Then he meets you, a beautiful girl that every guy wants and you guys fall in love. He finally has a girlfriend that's worth dating, and then he goes and becomes famous as well? If I were in that situation, I'd embrace the fame." He looked at her and then said, "Because really, all we want is a little attention sometimes."

"But anyone could give him attention." She said.

"Yeah, but it's not the same as thousands of people shouting your name. After a life of being a nobody, he's suddenly the biggest somebody." Nicholas looked out at Ryan who was going into the group with the team for a talk before the game started in a few minutes. "And now he has you too. It's like hitting the jackpot."

"And I'm just ruining it all by complaining." She said, suddenly shocked and sad by the realization. "Wow, I….thanks for helping me see what I've been doing wrong."

"You haven't been doing anything wrong." He said with a smile. "None of you are at fault here, it's just something that you guys go through."

"And to think, I hate everyone finding out my life and here I am telling all my problems about my relationship to a complete stranger." She said with a small laugh. "So tell me a little about yourself Nicholas."

"First of all, it's Nick, please. I hate being called Nicholas. It sounds too…what's the word that I'm looking for, formal? I hate using my name like that."

"Okay, so, Nick, how old are you and what do you do for a living?"

He smiled and said, "I am twenty and I am practicing to become a therapist."

She laughed and said, "Well that explains all the questions then."

"Well, I hope you don't mind. I had to try out what I learned in school on someone." He joked.

"No, no problem at all. I think you've been proven to be very useful. You'll make a great therapist." She said honestly.

"Thank you, but I've only given you about ten minutes of therapy. Who knows what could happen the rest of the session." He said with a small chuckle.

"No seriously, that was pretty good." She said with a smile. "Okay, so a little more about yourself. Since you know problems about my relationship, I think it's only fair that you tell me if you're in one or not."

He shook his head and said, "I'm a single guy. I used to have a girlfriend and loved her very much."

"Well what happened?" She asked. "If you don't mind telling me that is."

"I came home one day from a college class, went into our shared apartment and saw her having sex with my best friend. I dumped her sorry ass, punched my so called friend, and then transferred to a school near Newport so I could be as far away from them as possible." He said without a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Wow, that's pretty bad." She said with a frown. "And you don't sound upset by it at all."

He laughed and said, "Well, after cutting up all her pictures and throwing out anything that reminds me of either of them, you kind of get over it."

"Sounds like it. Well at least it was for the best right?"

"Yeah, sounds like it." He smiled and then looked and saw that the game was about to start.

She noticed also and before it got too loud she asked, "Do you ever get lonely?"

He shrugged and said, "It gets kind of lonely sometimes, not having any friends."

"Well, looks like you just found yourself one." She said with a smile, looking over to him.

He smiled back at her and said, "Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"No problem. You'll like Ryan too, he's a pretty nice guy."

"Well, he must be from the way your eyes light up whenever you talk about him." She blushed and he said, "Don't get embarrassed, it makes a woman so much more beautiful to see her in love. You're lucky that you found love with someone that loves you back."

She smiled and then looked at Ryan who was now looking over at her. She waved and blew him a kiss before saying, "Yeah, I really am."

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Ryan could see Marissa laughing with that mystery guy throughout the whole game, and it even made him mess up every once in a while too. He saw her smile at him, and the way she touched his arm every once in a while and pointed something out. At one point she'd waved at him, and he'd fake smiled and waved back, pretending he wasn't upset that she was with some mystery man right before his eyes. Even after Summer came, she still talked to that guy. How much he just wanted to go find out who the hell the guy was and send him far away from his girlfriend.

But that wouldn't go over well with Marissa, he knew it wouldn't. So instead he decided as he walked to meet up with her that he would pretend like it didn't bother him, that he didn't care. She wouldn't be too pleased if she thought that he was jealous. Because he WASN'T jealous. There was nothing to be jealous of right?

He walked up behind them and saw her giving a hug to the guy and then walk away.

Yeah, nothing to be jealous about.

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Marissa smiled as Ryan walked up to her and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him sweetly on the lips. After talking with Nicholas this whole time, she felt suddenly guilty for ever getting mad at Ryan about the cameras and fame. She pulled back and said, "You looked great out there today."

He gave her a small smile, one that she could tell didn't reach his eyes and he said, "Thanks."

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"Nothing, yeah, nothing at all." He said, walking away from her.

She looked at him confusedly and asked again, "What's wrong." She saw him about to protest again and said, "And before you tell me nothing, remember that I know you and I know when you're lying to me."

He was silent for a little while and then looked at her and said, "Who were you talking to today?"

She thought back to Nick and said, "Oh, he's just some guy that I met that helped me pass the time through the game." He looked at her, almost hurt and she said, "Okay, I realize how bad that sounds, but it's not like that. Before the game started we got to talking because I was bored…"

"What did you talk about?" He asked.

She smiled at him and stepped closer to him and said, "You."

"Me?" He asked, not believing her.

She nodded and said, "You and me and how much we love each other." She leaned in and kissed him softly before saying, "And now you're jealous."

"I am not jealous." He said defensively.

She giggled and said, "You are so jealous."

"I am not." He repeated.

She took his hand and led him to his car before saying, "But don't worry, I think it's cute."

"I'm not jealous." He said once more.

She got in and said, "They say denial is a powerful coping mechanism." He rolled his eyes and got into the car, ignoring her loud laughing next to him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Since they'd won their game, there was of course a celebration dinner thrown that nobody wanted to go to. Marissa made it a point not to complain about it though, not wanting to make Ryan feel any less important. After her talk with Nick, she realized that she needed to think more about Ryan and less about herself. So when Ryan announced that they had a big party to go to, she pretended to be happy and put a big smile on her face.

Now, here she was, an hour into the dinner and already bored out of her mind. Ryan and her dad were off talking about basketball, Summer was with Seth and she really didn't know anyone else. She was just about to go tell Ryan that she was ready to go already when she heard a familiar voice behind her say, "Hey."

She turned around and saw Nick standing there smiling at her. "Hey." She said, a smile coming onto her own face. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, these things are always open for the community so I thought I'd come to one finally and see if they're as exciting as you make them out to be." He said with a smile, looking around. He nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I can see why you hate these things."

"Thank you, finally someone understands." She said with a smile.

"Well, I'm also here because I wanted to meet Ryan." He said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, see, you talked about him so much during the game that I figured I'd have to meet him in person. Plus there's all the stuff in magazines and newspapers and TV that I thought I needed to see what the fuss was all about."

Just then Ryan came behind her and put an arm around her possessively and kissed her neck. She smiled and leaned back against him and he looked at Nick. "Ryan, this is Nick, Nick, this is Ryan." She said.

"Nick, nice to meet you." Ryan said, and she could tell he didn't really mean it. She smiled at his jealously and saw Nick smirking at her.

"Nice to meet you too Ryan." He turned to Marissa and said, "I'll let you two be, but I guess I'll see you around sometime."

"Yeah, see you." She said with a small wave.

"Bye Nick." Ryan said and she rolled her eyes at how happy his voice sounded when he said goodbye.

Nick nodded at Ryan and then walked away, leaving Ryan and Marissa alone. She turned and looked at him, raised one eyebrow and said, "You are unbelievable."

"What?" he asked, playing clueless.

"You know what. Why are you so jealous?" She asked, trying not to smile at how cute Ryan was when he was jealous.

"I can't stand to see you with someone else." He admitted, looking away shyly.

"And why not?" She asked, putting her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek.

"Because I'm afraid that someone will convince you that I'm not worth being with."

She leaned in and kissed him tenderly before saying, "No one can convince me that you're not worth being with. I love you Ryan."

"Love you too." He mumbled.

She smiled and said, "There's nothing to be jealous about."

"Fine."

"But just for the record, you're really cute when you are." She said with a slight giggle.

"Oh is that right?" he asked, leaning in and capturing her lips for another kiss. She mumbled yes against his lips and he smiled. "What do you say we get out of here?" He asked after they pulled back for air.

"Mmm, sounds perfect." She said with a smile.

As they walked away, Ryan said, "I wonder where Taylor was."

Marissa stopped and felt herself get upset at just the mention of Taylor's name. "I guess we better enjoy the quiet while it lasts." She smiled, sure that Taylor wasn't going to come back and bother them anymore.

If she only knew…


	28. Important AN

A/N Okay, so I have to put this on hiatus because my computer at my house crashed and now I have to use my grandma's computer and my dad's computer. That would be okay if my grandma wasn't putting her computer away for a while so now I just have to use my dad's computer and I don't go over there that much. So I'm sorry, I really have a lot of ideas for this story and it was just about to reach a big point in the story but until I can get this whole thing sorted out I will not be able to post on it. I may post one last chapter on the story before my grandma takes her computer down, but I really don't know at this point. So I hope you understand and again, I'm sorry.


	29. Chapter 28

**A/N again, short chapters for now, don't know when the computer's going down, taking advantage.**

Ryan was taking his usual morning jog when he saw Nick on the beach. He wondered to himself why it is that everyone seems to run into him while he's jogging in the morning. He slowed his pace and walked up to Nick, deciding that he was a little rude the other day and wanted to apologize. Nick saw him and smiled and waved him over. He reached him and stood there for a minute before saying, "So look...about the other day..."

Nick made a motion with his hand that told him that it wasn't a big deal and said, "Forget about it. I totally understand. You just saw me with your girlfriend and you'd never met me before, that's gotta be a little weird. If that happened to me, I'd get a little posessive too."

He nodded and thought that maybe this Nick guy wasn't so bad after all. "so you're not upset?"

Nick shook his head and said, "No, not at all."

"Okay, that's good then. I didn't want to make a bad first impression like that." He said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I can understand that." Nick said, looking out at the ocean.

"Why don't we start over?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, looking at him.

"I mean, you and Marissa are bound to hang out together, so why don't I introduce myself formally. Maybe we could try to be friends or something." He stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Ryan Atwood."

Nick smiled and shook his hand firmly. "I'm Nicholas Evans, but you can call me Nick."

He smiled and pulled his hand away. "I think that's a much better greeting don't you?"

Nick laughed and said, "Yeah, I do."

"So, Marissa mentioned something last night when we got home about you being a therapist or something?"

Nick nodded and said, "I'm studying to become one."

"You already helped me and her, there's no telling what you'll be able to do for the rest of the world." He said with a smile.

"I'm hoping. When I was a bit younger I had a lot of problems with family and stuff. I guess I wanted someone to talk to, but there was never anyone. I figured that maybe now if I become a therapist, there will be people like me that I can help."

He watched Nick for a second and then said, "You're not a bad guy Nick."

"Neither are you Ryan."

"I should probably go." He said, looking down at his watch. "Marissa will wake up soon, and she's beginning to hate me being gone in the mornings."

Nick nodded and said, "See you around sometime."

He nodded and turned back towards the apartment. "Yeah, maybe I will." He called back over his shoulder.

He ran off back to the apartment thinking that maybe things with Nick weren't as bad as he thought they were before. Maybe Marissa just wanted someone to talk to when he was off playing basketball and stuff. When he got back and saw Marissa still sleeping, he smiled to himself, knowing that nothing could ever come between them.

Is he right though?

Hmm...


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N I really doubt anyone will read this, but I decided that in case there was one person out there on this website still interested in this story even though i haven't posted in forever, will appreciate this post. I actually posted it on the ocaddicts website (I'm coopchino18 there), but I never put it together and posted it here. It's not really long, and I don't think it's even a complete chapter, just bits and pieces I posted...but here it is regardless. Please review if you still want this story. You never know, I could start writing for any of my other stories soon as well as Lollypops and Letters.**

Since Marissa was still sleeping, Ryan decided it would be nice to make her breakfast and let her get her rest. He went to the kitchen and busied himself getting the ingredients together for chocolate chip pancakes. He started mixing the batter and when he was done with that he put them over the stove and they started to cook. He also got the glasses out for the orange juice and after everything was cooked he put it on a tray and took it to the bed where Marissa was just starting to wake up. "Good morning." He said with a smile, thinking of how she looked so adorable when she was half asleep.

She saw the food and smiled and said, "Well it's definitely a good morning this morning." She picked up a fork and immediately started eating her pancakes.

"What, no thank you for breakfast?" He asked, sitting next to her on the bed.

She looked at him and then swallowed her food. "Thank you Ryan." she said with a smirk, and then kissed him softly. She tasted of syrup from the pancakes.

"Your welcome." he said with a smile.

"Can I eat without being disturbed now?" She asked, looking down at her food. "It's just so good and I want to be able to enjoy it all."

He smiled at her and said, "You go ahead and eat your food. I'll just go out into the living room and watch TV or something. You obviously don't need me here."

He got up and walked to the kitchen and cleaned up, not really too hungry himself. After that he went and sat on the couch and started to watch TV. After a while he heard sounds in the kitchen and then the next thing he knew, Marissa was walking towards him. He smiled at her and she came and sat down next to him and he put his arms around her. "What are you watching?" She asked, leaning into him.

"I was just watching yesterday's sports highlights." He said, kissing her cheek. "We can change it if you want."

"Ooh, let's watch Lifetime." She said, turning the channel.

"Lifetime?" he questioned with a raise of his eyebrows.

"Yeah." She said watching the TV. "I can watch that channel all day."

"Is that what you do when I'm off practicing?" he asked.

"Sometimes. Other times I'm just waiting for you to come home so I can get some other type of entertainment." She said with a smirk.

"Well what mood are you in now?" he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. "Because you know, I happen to be free for the next couple of hours and I could entertain you anyway you want me to."

"Like my own personal servant?" She asked with a smile. "I could really use one of those."

"Yeah, sure." He said.

"Okay, then your first job is to go clean the bathroom. It's getting to be quite the mess." She said, moving aside so he could get up. He looked at her disappointedly and she said, "What, you have to do what I tell you to and I told you to go clean the bathroom so chop chop already."

He groaned and got up, walking towards the bathroom. She smirked when he was gone, loving that she could manipulate him like this. After he was done with the bathroom, he walked back over to her and she said, "Now it's time to clean the kitchen."

"I am not going to clean the kitchen. I just cleaned it." He argued.

"But it needs to be swept and mopped." She stated. He groaned and walked off to clean the kitchen and she loved every moment of it. "Thanks a bunch." she said, and then turned back to the movie, every once in a while hearing the sounds of him talking to himself angrily.

When that was done, he came back and she told him to go dust the furniture. "All the dust is making me sneeze." Again, he groaned and walked away, mumbling something under his breath.

When all that was over he came onto the couch and sat with his arms over his chest. "I'm not doing anything else, I don't care what you say."

"Really, because there was one last thing that I wanted." She said, scooting closer to her.

"What would that be, do you want me to do the laundry next?" He asked, glaring at her.

"No, not exactly." She said, leaning in and kissing him hard on the mouth. He started kissing her back and she pulled back. "For the record, you look really cute when you're mad."

"You always say I'm cute no matter what I do." He pointed out.

"Well it's because you are." She said, kissing him once again. She put her arms around his neck and climbed on top of him. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and roamed it with her own, exploring every inch of it, tasting him, enjoying him. He meanwhile started putting his hands under her shirt, inching them higher and higher until he reached her breasts. She moved her hands from around his neck and to his shoulders, and then to his shirt and slowly down. She lifted up the shirt just a bit and slid her hands under it, running it over his chest and stomach. Next she kissed down his neck, sucking it in some places, making him moan. She could feel how turned on he was becoming, and she smiled to herself. She started moving her hands down to his jeans to unbutton them but then stopped.

She pulled away and said, "But you said you wouldn't do anything else for me….so I guess I just should stop now shouldn't I?" She started to get up off the couch when she felt Ryan's arms pull her back to him.

"Maybe I can make an exception this once." He said huskily, seeking her mouth again.

She pulled back and giggled. "Glad to hear it." she said before he kissed her again hungrily. He picked her up and took her to the bedroom where they made love late into the day.

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After an entertaining day for both Ryan and Marissa, it was time for Ryan to get ready for his game. He slipped out of bed, letting Marissa rest after their activities of the day and slipped on some boxers. He searched for some clothes to wear to the locker room and then brought a change of clothes for afterwards in case they needed to go to a party. After he was all ready, he turned and saw Marissa still sleeping and smiled to himself before walking over to her. "Hey." He said, lying down next to her on the bed.

She slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him sleepily when she saw him. "Hey." She said.

"I'm going to get going to the game okay?" he said, kissing her cheek.

She nodded and said, "Good luck."

He smiled and said, "Thanks. I'll see you there right?" He didn't know why he had to ask when he already knew the answer, he just liked to make sure.

She nodded and said, "Of course I will be there. I'll be your number one fan."

He smiled and said, "Get some rest...the game doesn't start for a couple of hours still."

She nodded, already closing her eyes again. "Love you, see you later."

He smiled at her and said, "Love you too." He kissed her forehead and then headed out to the arena. When he was there, he saw that Seth and Jeremy were already there. When he saw them he just waved politely and then went to his locker.

Seth followed him and said, "Someone got lucky."

He looked at Seth strangely and said, "Now why would you go and assume that?"

Seth gave him a raise of the eyebrows and said, "Buddy, it's you and Marissa for one. You guys are always all over each other...may I remind you of you two at the mall on your anniversary?" When he got a little red Seth laughed and said, "And two, you're glowing that post sex glow."

He glared at Seth and said, "Jimmy could hear you."

Seth shrugged and said, "He's probably figured what's going on between you by now, I mean, come on, she never goes home."

He took his shirt over his head and put on his jersey before saying, "That's true."

Seth smiled and said, "I'm happy for you buddy. Just, don't get anymore distractions like Taylor." he lowered his voice so Jeremy wouldn't hear and said, "She probably already has something else up her sleeve."

He shook his head and said, "No, Taylor, me, and Marissa can be friends, nothing more."

Seth shrugged and said, "I'm just saying in case she isn't giving up...don't give her a chance to screw up what you have with Marissa." Seth started to walk back to his own locker and then said, "Because no one wants you guys to break up."

He watched Seth go and put on some deodorant, thinking about how Taylor had come between them so easily before. She'd changed though right? She'd get it in her head that he loved Marissa and not her. He finished getting ready, all the while thinking about how bad things could get if she didn't.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N This is really short, but I knew if I didn't make this chapter short, it would never actually be finished. I'm thinking of posting the next chapter soonish. I want to get working on some of my other stories again other than Lollypops and Letters. So R/R and please put up with this chapter. Better ones are on the way. I'm not going to do the individual responses on this story, not yet, but I will say to the person that asked that the oc addicts website is www . the oc addicts . co . uk. Take out the spaces.**

After another victory for the Piranhas, there was a party for everyone to attend. Not long into the party, Ryan and Taylor started talking, leaving Marissa by herself. After a while, she was getting really fed up with everything. She was about to go to talk to Ryan and tell him that she was ready to leave, but she stopped short at the sight of her boyfriend with Jeremy's girlfriend. Ryan smiled at Taylor and Taylor put her hand on his shoulder and laughed. Marissa was watching the whole exchange with a growing fury working its way through her body. Taylor leaned her face close to Ryan and whispered something into his ear and they both started laughing. That did it. She walked towards Ryan and grabbed his arm. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" She asked.

He nodded and said, "Excuse me." To Taylor and then walked with her outside. Boy did she hate these parties.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"What was what about?" He replied.

"You and Taylor, laughing and her touching your arm, what was that about?"

He sighed and said, "We're friends, friends laugh."

She sighed and sat down on a bench that was there and said, "Taylor can never be just friends with you just like I would never be able to be just friends with you."

He sat down next to her and put an arm around her. "That's all I'm going to be with her though. Friends."

She leaned into him and said, "I don't want you to be anything with her."

He sighed and said, "Marissa..."

She shook her head and said, "No, let me finish. Promise me that you won't hang out with her anymore. She's just going to ruin us."

He thought about it and then said, "This is stupid..."

She shook her head and stood up. Why couldn't he understand? "You know what, you obviously don't care enough about our relationship to listen to me about this, so I'll just go and find another way home." She fought the tears that were starting to sting the backs of her eyes and started to walk away.

Ryan quickly jumped up and grabbed her arm. "Marissa, will you just wait a moment?"

She shook her head and said, "No, Ryan. You don't care enough to listen, so I don't care enough to wait."

"But I do care enough to listen," He said softly. He tried to tilt her chin up so that she looked into his eyes, but she wouldn't allow it. He sighed and said, "I love you…you know that."

She nodded and still avoided his gaze. "I know you do, and I love you too, but you're not listening to me at all."

"Yes, I am," He stated firmly. As she avoided his gaze, he grew more and more frustrated with her. "Will you just look at me already?" he asked, raising his voice a little.

She looked up and glared at him. "What do you want?"

"I want you, and I want us to be happy," He said softly.

She sighed and said, "I do too…but that's just impossible for us right now. I've tried and tried to be understanding and calm about Taylor…but I can't anymore. It's me or her, Ryan. And by your words earlier, you obviously don't take me seriously." She looked away from him again and detached herself from his firm grasp on her arm.

"Marissa…" He said, his voice frustrated and also scared.

"What?" She asked tiredly.

He looked at her silently for a moment and then asked, "Is this whole thing with Taylor really that important to you?" She nodded but didn't speak and he added, "So if I talk to Taylor ever again, we're over?" She nodded and he finished by saying, "So she's gotten that deep under your skin then?"

She groaned angrily and practically shouted, "Yes, Ryan! She has done nothing but make you doubt me and my love for you and you want to be friends with her?! That's crazy…you're crazy, and I won't deal with it anymore." She sighed and ran a hand through her long hair. "I'm tired, okay? I'm tired of all of this crap that she's been giving us. Being without you is better than being with the both of you."

Now he was really starting to process all of this. "Wait…you can't break up with me…" he said softly, his eyes pleading.

"I can, and I will. I already told you my conditions," She said quietly.

He thought about it and decided that he didn't want to be friends with Taylor anyways. "I won't talk to her again," he whispered. "I won't be near her…nothing. I won't let anything come in the way of us."

She sighed and coldly said, "Are you sure? I don't want you to have to leave your bff Taylor and be mad at me about it."

He shook his head and put both of his arms on the side of her arms. "I'd give anything to be with you. You should know that by now."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, right. Now you're making me sound like the bad girlfriend." She sighed and sadly said, "We've both had our mistakes in this relationship, and that's why I'm making you do this." She looked into his eyes willingly for the first time and softly said, "I can't deal with her anymore and I don't know how you can be friends with her after everything bad she's said about me and our relationship."

"It doesn't matter anymore," He whispered gently, kissing her forehead. "All that matters to me is me and you."

"Good," She said, finally relaxing. She hadn't noticed before just how tense she'd been. She looked at him for a long time, and then gave him a small smile. He relaxed at that too and smiled back. She kissed his neck and let him hold her close to his body. For now, everything was perfect. For now, they were in love and happy. And for now that was enough.


	32. Chapter 32

Marissa opened her eyes to be met with two things; sunlight that hurt her eyes and an overwhelming sore throat. She started to groan, but that hurt her throat even more so she stopped and just blinked, trying to get her eyes used to the harsh sunlight. She looked around the room for Ryan but just found that the room was empty and he blinds were open and the curtains were pulled aside to allow the light. She would so kill Ryan when she got the chance. She stood up and rubbed her eyes tiredly, trying to erase the last few traces of sleep from them, and then walked into the living room where she could see Ryan in the kitchen. He looked up and saw her and smiled, or started to until he saw the pissed off look on her face. "What's wrong?" He asked with a frown.

"You let too much light into the bedroom," She said, but her voice was hoarse so she stopped her complaining at that. She put her hand up to her throat which now felt like it was on fire and she fought a sigh, knowing that would hurt even more.

"You sound horrible," He said, ignoring the complaint and quickly walking to her in just a few quick strides. He put a hand up to her forehead and muttered, "You're burning up. How are you feeling?"

"Other than my throat feeling like I swallowed fire, I'm fine," She said bitterly.

He put his hands up and said, "I'm just here to help." He stared at her for a moment, probably trying to come up with something to do, and then said, "You need rest."

"I'm not tired," She protested as he put his hands on her lower back and gently pushed towards the bedroom. "Ryan, stop!"

He complied and asked, "Well, you're not going to get better if you don't rest. Do you seriously want a sore throat for longer than necessary? Besides, if you have a fever, it's just a matter of time before you start feeling faint and weak…" As if he'd summoned the feelings inside of her, she started to fall against him, the world suddenly becoming very distorted. "See what I mean?" he asked, his voice concerned.

"I just had a small dizzy spell. It's nothing to get worried about," She mumbled, willing the world to stop spinning. Her legs started to give out beneath her and she shrieked, "Ryan!" but he was already taking her into his arms and carrying her to the bed. He gently lay her down and sat on the edge of the bed next to her. "Thanks," she muttered, mad that he was right.

"You're welcome," He said, his voice still holding traces of concern. She focused on him and saw that his eyebrows were furrowed together and his hair was in his eyes. She put a hand on the side of his face and he looked into her eyes for the first time in the morning.

"Good morning," She whispered, even though it hurt like hell to speak. In fact, it felt like hell exploded inside of her throat.

He gave her a crooked half smile and said, "Good morning." He was quiet for a moment and then said, "I would ask how you are this morning…but I think that you've already answered that for me."

She started to laugh, but then held her throat in agony. "Ouch," She whimpered.

His face immediately turned worried and he softly said, "I've never had to take care of someone with a sore throat before…maybe I should call Ta--" He thought of what he was about to say and then quickly redirected it and said, "Summer. Maybe I should call Summer. She looks like someone that knows how to help people that way."

Even though he'd corrected his little slip, she still knew what he was going to say. The fact that he'd even think of saying Taylor made her sick to her stomach in a less literal sense. She just nodded and whispered, "Yeah." He got up, walked to his cell phone and called Summer. He started talking on the phone, explaining the problem and she heard Summer on the other end of the phone every once in a while explaining something to do. And even though her throat hurt, she couldn't get over the small pain in her heart from Ryan's mistake.

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A day later, even though they'd given her medicine and tasty blackberry cough drops, she still felt as bad as the day before, if not worse. Ryan paced back and forth, his cell phone placed at his ear as he listened to Jimmy talking on the other line. "So she's sick? What's the symptoms?"

"She has a fever of 101 degrees, has a really bad sore throat, is weak, and slightly lightheaded whenever she gets up," Ryan said, running a hand through his shaggy hair and sighing. He had a game the next day at noon in San Antonio and he needed to leave later on today. He wasn't up for that and was trying really hard to get Jimmy to let him stay here and take care of Marissa, something that his NBA coach wasn't too thrilled about…even if it was his daughter that was sick.

He heard a sigh on the other side of the phone and asked, "Have you been giving her medicine? Has she been resting?"

"Yes to the medicine and kind of yes to the resting…she refuses to sleep if I'm not in the room with her," He said, thinking of his stubborn girlfriend. "And I can't always do that if I'm working out or something."

It was quiet on the other line for a minute. After a long silence between the two, he heard Jimmy say, "If you think it's best that Marissa be taken care of by you, then I think you should do it…even if it means that I lose my star player."

He started to smile and then thought of the circumstances and it dropped to a brooding frown. "Okay, so I'll stay with her--"

"Oh no you don't," He heard a hoarse voice call out from behind him. He turned and saw Marissa leaning against the doorway to the room, trying her best to look healthy and oh so stubborn.

"Excuse me for just one moment," He said into the phone as happily as possible. He pulled the phone from his ear and covered the mouth, then looked at Marissa and said, "Oh no I don't what?"

"You're not staying here. You have a big game," She said, rubbing her throat from the pain and trying but failing not to grimace.

"It's not debatable," He said with a shake of his head. "You're sick and you need someone to take care of you."

"I have plenty of people that could take care of me," She said, starting to cross her arms, but then getting weak and started to fall over. He ran to her and caught her in his arms, the phone in his hand now free. She snatched it and he started to protest, but then put it to her ear and in the best voice she could muster said, "Hey dad." They started to talk and he couldn't hear what was going on. "Oh yeah, but I'll be fine…yes, I promise…Ryan is needed more at the game than here with me…I know he said that and it's partially true, but I can last a few days…" She rolled her eyes and said, "Yes dad, I'm getting enough sleep…well, I have Summer for one…yes, she knows how to take care of me….no, I'm not your little girl anymore…yes, I'm sure…" Then, she gave a triumphant smile and said, "I knew you'd see it my way. Here's Ryan."

Ryan glared at her and put it to his ear and said, "Okay, sorry about that."

He heard Jimmy chuckle a little and say, "Sorry, but the verdict's in and I expect you to be on that plane with me in five hours."

Ryan hung up the phone and looked at Marissa, his eyes angry. She smiled and kissed his cheek softly. "I knew he'd see it my way," She said, then walked/stumbled her way to the bed where she lay down and pulled the blankets over her head, a smirk playing her lips the whole time.

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"Are you sure--"

"Yes, Ryan, I'll be just fine," She said with a roll of her eyes, ignoring the way her throat starting hurting ten times worse when she spoke.

"And you have all the numbers?" He asked, his eyes wary.

She nodded and looked up at him from the bed. "Yes, I have your cell phone number and the hotel just incase you can't be reached there. I have my dad's number and the room numbers of every room that you guys are going to be in. I even have Seth's phone number and as a last resort, Jeremy's phone number in case I have an emergency and find that you are the one to call instead of Summer who will stay in Newport with me the whole time and be nothing but a few numbers away."

He sighed and said, "I don't like it when you mock me like that."

She shrugged and said, "I don't like it when you get overprotective like that. I'm not a little kid."

He shook his head and said, "But it's what I do…"

"And mocking you is what I do," She said, a smile on her face despite the pain. "Come here.." She patted the spot on the bed next to her and he came willingly. She took one his hands in her own.

"You're hot," he muttered.

"I know, you're pretty hot yourself," She joked, trying to lighten the mood. He rolled his eyes and despite the fact that she knew he was really concerned for her, smiled just the slightest bit. "I'll be fine," She said softly, trying to convey the fact. "And even if I'm not, which I will be, you'll only be gone tonight and tomorrow. You'll be back before either of us misses each other. Besides, we spend every day together now…don't you want a break from me?" She meant it as a joke, but it sounded like she was insecure…which if she was honest, she kind of was.

"I could never take a willing break from you," He murmured, and then leaned in and kissed her lips.

"You're going to get yourself sick," she said, pushing him away despite the sparks she felt from the kiss.

"I really don't care," He said, starting to lean in again.

"But I do," She said, keeping him away. He looked hurt and she said, "It's not that I don't want to kiss you…it's just that I don't want to be the one that causes you any pain." She pointed to her throat and said, "And believe me, this is painful."

He was quiet, and then asked, "Why don't you want me to stay with you? You know that I would love to help you and I know that you want me here. Why not let me?" He looked into her eyes.

"Because I know how much you love basketball and how much your fans love you. I've torn you away from that too much…I won't do that to you anymore. I want you to enjoy basketball because it's a large chunk of your life," She said softly, looking into his eyes too. "I want you to go out there and win me that game okay?"

He smiled a little and said, "Okay, I will, but only for you." He kissed the tip of her nose softly and then pulled back and stood up. "I have to go now, but I'll call you when I get there okay?"

She nodded and said, "I'll be looking forward to it." She snuggled into the blankets and he watched her close her eyes and drift to sleep quickly. He smiled a little at her and grabbed his bag with all of his clothes and stuff in it.

"I love you," He whispered, leaning down and kissing her warm forehead before finally leaving.

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After Ryan got to San Antonio, he quickly called Marissa who didn't answer. He figured she was still asleep so he left her a message, then closed his phone and made his way to the hotel with Seth. Seth quickly picked up on his sour mood and asked, "Hey buddy…what's the matter? Are you missing gf Marissa already?"

"Since when do you say gf, Seth?" Ryan asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Since now. So answer me…what's the problem? You know you'll see her in a day and a half, so what's the big deal?" Seth asked, looking at Ryan.

Ryan shrugged and leaned against the window in the cab. They could've taken a limo with the rest of the team, but he liked to keep things simple. Seth said he'd go wherever Ryan did, probably so he could keep and eye on him. "I don't know. We've never been apart for long…I guess that's why. It's hard not having here with me. Other than when I work out or am playing a game or something, we're always together. She's always right here…" He points to the spot next to him and sighs.

Seth put a hand on his friend's shoulder and said, "Things could be worse, you know?"

Ryan nodded and quietly said, "Yeah…but right now this is the worst thing that could happen to me. Besides, I doubt that Marissa and I are going to break up. With Taylor out of our lives, nothing is going to come in between us…I'm sure of it." He had told Seth earlier on the plane about the whole Taylor situation…or lack thereof. Seth had completely agreed with Marissa but Ryan still didn't get why he couldn't be friends with Taylor and couldn't understand for the life of him why he even wanted to. It had nothing to do with sexual feelings or anything, he was in love with Marissa and only Marissa…it was just that even though Taylor was manipulative, she could make a good friend if she directed her feelings elsewhere.

Seth nodded and said, "True. You guys are going to make it."

Ryan nodded, suddenly content. In a day and a half he'd be home with Marissa and hopefully she'd be feeling better. He knew that he would feel better with her by his side. And when he arrived home, he'd tell her of how much he missed her and they'd spend the day in each other's arms, making up for the day that they'd missed. Him and Marissa would be alright because that's the way things were supposed to be. No matter what happened, no matter who came in between them, they'd always get past it because they loved each other.

He knew that they were just meant to be.

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"Hey, it's Marissa. I'm fine, so don't worry about me. Summer is staying over tonight so I don't really think that we can talk because she's very strict when it comes to watching the Valley and no interruptions are allowed. I love you, don't forget that I expect you to win that game for me okay?"

Ryan sighed and closed his phone. The sound of her voice made him miss her that much more. He closed his eyes and pictured her face and smiled just a little. He imagined himself staring into her eyes after they've made love…the way her eyes at that moment held the purest form of love possible because there were no sexual desires present and when that happened, nothing but love was left. He quickly texted, 'Good night. Love You, and yes, I will win that game."

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After a quick practice in the morning, the team was allowed to go explore the city as long as they promised not to drink, get hurt, or be late to the game. They all nodded and embarked on their journey. Seth told Ryan that he was tired and wanted to sleep before the game, so Ryan was left alone. He sighed and walked downtown, unsure of what to do. He decided he should see some sights. He asked a few people where the Alamo was, and a few of them stared at him with wide eyes and then stumbled over their words until they pointed a shaky finger and gave him directions. He followed the directions after thanking them and not long afterwards arrived in front of the Alamo.

He decided not to go inside, figuring it was probably just some type of museum exhibit filled with tons of people that he didn't really want to see. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked along the street and took a different road, leading him somewhere else that he didn't know. He spent the rest of the morning just walking around downtown, not entering anyplace, but keeping a steady pace, getting a good workout. He found that he didn't really care about sightseeing if he didn't have someone to see them with.

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Marissa had to beg Summer to stop the marathon of The Valley so that she could watch Ryan play. It killed her not to be there cheering him on, but she also knew that her throat was killing her too and that outweighed the guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach. She missed Ryan and she wondered if he missed her just as much. They hadn't been apart from each other this long in a while and it was destroying her inside not to have him next to her. She heard the TV announcer talking about the two teams playing and then heard Ryan's name being mentioned. She grabbed the remote and turned up the volume so she could hear better. "And it seems that the Piranha's best player is a little preoccupied today. Did you guys hear about how he freaked out a bunch of tourists today? Apparently he was walking aimlessly downtown and a lot of people were shocked. He even asked some for directions like it was no big deal. Everyone knows that Ryan's probably one of the most popular guys in the NBA…right up there with Tony Parker for marrying Eva Longoria-Parker. Whatever it is that's bothering him today- because we all know there' something-he really needs to shape up."

Another guy comes on and says, "Have you guys been following the whole deal with him and the coach's daughter? Have you seen the shirts?" He holds up a shirt that says, 'I love Ryissa!' She rolls her eyes but is kind of intrigued by this. "Looks like they're a favorite. A lot are rooting for them to be together in the end. Maybe there will be wedding bells soon…who knows? They are young, but from what I hear, very in love. I guess we'll have to see. Anyways…so how about them Spurs?"

She sighed and leaned back in the couch. Summer put an arm around her best friend, even though Marissa had specifically instructed her not to touch her so she wouldn't get sick, and said, "I know you miss him, but at this time tomorrow you guys will be together again."

She nodded but didn't say anything. The thought of Ryan coming back soon made her feel just the slightest bit better.

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After winning the game, Ryan decided to go walking some more. He'd gone to a lot of places, but not the River Walk. He started to walk along it, looking at the greenish-brown water and wondered why people loved it so much. He shrugged to himself and kept walking. He eventually decided to go on a tour of it in one of the river boats. He paid and walked on. They were just about to leave when he heard a voice shout, "Wait, wait, just one more person!"

He opened his eyes to the familiar voice and saw Taylor paying and getting onto the boat. He looked and saw that the only free spots were beside him. He sighed, deciding that this just wasn't a good day. She came over and sat next to him but didn't say anything as they started floating in the river. The tour guide started talking about different buildings and areas, but Ryan didn't listen, not really caring. He wondered what Marissa was doing right now and thought about calling her, but instead he heard a voice beside him say, "Nice day isn't it?"

Ryan looked over and saw Taylor and shrugged. "It's hot and humid," he mumbled. "The tourists are staring at me like I'm some God or something…" he looked over and saw some people staring at him with wide eyes and some teenage girls giggling and taking pictures with their phone. "And I'm not even supposed to be talking to you.." He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Oh, Marissa's orders huh?" She asked, her tone sarcastic. He didn't open his eyes and she put a cold hand on his arm and he froze beneath her touch, completely uncomfortable and unsure of what to do. "You know…you can hang out with me if you want to. It doesn't matter what she says. If you let her control you…well…" He guessed she rolled her eyes and smirked. "Well, what kind of relationship is that? Are you really that whipped?"

He decided the best way out of this was to just agree with her to get her away. "It's a good one and yes, Taylor, I am really that whipped."

Taylor was quiet and he thought he'd won, but then she said, "Oh well. We're states away…how would she ever know?" He thought about that and sighed. Taylor had a point, and even though she wasn't the best person to hang out with, he was very lonely right now and wanted someone desperately to talk to. A tiny voice inside of his head told him that this was wrong, that he'd made a promise to Marissa to stay away, but there was also another voice that said she'd never have to know. He opened his eyes and looked at Taylor and she grinned triumphantly. "I always get my way, so you shouldn't be fighting me Ryan. It will make everything easier for you if you don't."

He didn't say anything, but nodded just a little, sealing his fate once and for all.

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Marissa tried calling Ryan, but he didn't answer. She figured maybe he was just out with the guys or something, so she waited. She was feeling slightly better, good enough that she could eat without it hurting too much. She sent Summer away so that she could be alone, which she now regretted. Without Ryan here, there was really nothing to do. It was Spartan, just a bunch of white walls with a few items of furniture here and there. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, contemplating what to do. She dialed Ryan's number again, unable to stop herself, and heard, "This is Ryan, you know what to do."

She heard the beep and said, "Hey…so, you won…" She trailed off, leaving a small gap of silence. "Well…I guess just call me…love you…" She hung up and then went to the bedroom and lay down on the bed, wondering how long it would take him to get her message and if he was even thinking of her at all.

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"Okay, that was probably the most boring Museum I've ever been to," Taylor said, laughing a little as they exited the Guinness Book of World Record Museum. Ryan laughed a little too and nodded. It had been a good couple of hours with Taylor. She acted like a good friend and in return, he laughed and went along with her. She was pretty fun to be around if he was honest, and he knew that this was the last time they'd ever hang out together so he made sure she knew that, which she'd agreed on.

"Yeah, it was pretty stupid…" He looked down at his watch and saw that it was getting late. He still wanted to talk to Marissa and really just wanted to relax. "So…we should be getting back…"

Taylor nodded and they went back to the hotel. He was leaving her at the elevator, and then would go take the stairs. He wanted to get a good exercise and this was the one way he really knew how. "So…I had fun," Taylor said, waiting for the elevator. She bit her lip thoughtfully and for a brief second he actually wanted to know what she was thinking. But the thought left just as quickly as it came.

"Yeah, I actually did too," he said with a small smile.

"I never thought I'd hear you admit to that," Taylor said, a large smile plastered on her face.

"Well, I figured, this being the last time we ever talk and all…you deserved that much," He said.

She nodded and then went back to being thoughtful. "The elevator is taking a while," She said after a bit.

He nodded and said, "Sometimes it can be slow.."

She nodded too and said, "Ryan…there's something I've wanted to know all afternoon but I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?" He asked, looking at her curiously.

"Afraid of what you might think of me if I asked…" she said quietly.

"Well, what do you want to know?" He asked, involuntarily taking the bait.

"How this feels…" she said, leaning in and planting her lips onto his.

For a whole second he couldn't even process what was going on. For another second he forgot who this was, and then finally on the third second, he pulled back abruptly and said, "Taylor…"

She shook her head and smiled. "That wasn't so bad now was it?"

He glared at her and said, "I love Marissa."

"But that doesn't mean that you can't like kissing someone else," She said with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes, but for the briefest moment in his head, he wondered if he'd actually liked that kiss. He shook his head and dismissed the thought, sure that the answer was no. "I don't like kissing you, but I'd like to thank you for something," He said with a smile.

"What?" she asked, curious now.

"I want to thank you for making me realize just how in love I am with Marissa," he said, a grin still on his face. "Bye, Taylor," He said, leaving her speechless in front of the elevator. He heard the ding and he put his fingers up to his lips, suddenly realizing what he had to do. He got his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number that he was sure he wouldn't have to for some time, and then said, "Hey…yeah, this is Ryan." He smiled and wiped his lips. "Look…I need you to do me a favor."

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"Did you get that?" Tom asked his friend beside him.

Eric nodded and looked at his camera. "Yeah, I totally got it. Dude…this is going to make us so rich!" He stared at his camera, flipping through the pictures of Ryan and Taylor kissing, and then the afterward moments where Ryan smiled and then finally when he walked away, his fingers lightly on his lips. He opened his phone and called his boss. "Hey…you're going to love me for this…wait until you see what I've got…"

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Ryan wanted to, no needed to, talk to Marissa. He dialed her number quickly and waited for her to pick up. After two rings, he heard her breathless. "Ryan?"

He smiled softly to himself and said, "Hey."

She let out a sigh of relief and his smile widened. "I've missed you so much…did you get my messages?"

"Yeah," he said, then was quiet. "God I can't believe how much I miss you…"

He heard the smile in her voice as she said, "I feel so pathetic. Summer keeps making fun of me for wanting you here next to be so badly. I kind of wish that you had stayed with me now…"

"After everything you went through to get me here?" He asked, laughing slightly.

"Yes. I can't stand having you away from me," She said softly, the tone of the conversation serious.

"So…I was thinking.." he said after a minute. "Maybe when I get back, we could go out for a romantic dinner…just the two of us. It can be wherever you want to. I want us to go to one of the best restaurants in town."

"What's the occasion?" She asked, curious.

"Well…it's a celebration for winning the game," He said, only telling part of the truth. He was so eager that he could barely contain his excitement. "I did it just for you."

"Yeah, I know, and I'm glad," She said.

"So…you sound better…" He said, laying back on the bed and getting comfortable. They continued talking, filling in about their experience without each other. Ryan didn't talk about Taylor, and was sure she would never find out. After all, he was ready to ask her for forever.


End file.
